At age 50, men of average risk with good life expectancy (>10 years) should have a conversation with their primary care doctor about the benefits and risks of screening for prostate cancer
Black men and those with a close relative diagnosed with prostate cancer before age 65 should have this discussion at age 45
Men at even higher risk, meaning those with more than one first-degree relative diagnosed at an early age and those who carry BRCA gene mutations, should have this discussion beginning at 40
About 1 in 8 men will develop prostate cancer in their life, but no major medical organization presently endorses routine prostate screening for average risk men. The reason: overdiagnosis issues. Also, the 10-year survival rate for all stages of known prostate cancer, without routine screening, is a combined 98%.
Guidelines
Test or procedure
Prostate Cancer
A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test is a simple blood test that checks for a protein produced by the prostate gland. This may be done with or without a rectal exam