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Why Screening Matters For The Men in Our Lives

Oct 23, 2025

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Screening for different types of cancer has advanced remarkably over the years and continues to evolve and change as medical science progresses.  For the men in our lives, we have put together some information on the current state of prostate cancer screening.

PSA Screening: Risks & Benefits

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a protein made by the prostate gland. A PSA blood test can help find prostate cancer early, before symptoms appear. However, not all prostate cancers are dangerous and not all men benefit from screening.

Who Should Consider PSA Screening?

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Men aged 50 to 69

Most guidelines recommend that men aged 50 to 69 talk with their doctor about PSA screening. The decision should be based on individual medical risk, personal values, and preferences.

Men at higher risk, aged 40 to 45

Men at higher risk—Black men, those with a family history of prostate cancer, or those with certain genetic changes like BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 or Lynch Syndrome—may consider starting discussions earlier, sometimes as early as age 40 to 45.

Get more information here

PSA Screening is generally not recommended for men over 70, as the risks often outweigh the benefits. The decision to check a PSA over the age of 70 should be made on an individual basis with your physician.

Potential Benefits of PSA Screening

1 in 8 men in the US Overall will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime
  • PSA screening may slightly lower the chance of dying from prostate cancer. For every 1,000 men screened, about 1 to 2 deaths from prostate cancer may be prevented.
  • Screening may also reduce the number of men who develop advanced (metastatic) prostate cancer (about 3 fewer cases per 1,000 men screened).

Potential Risks and Harms of PSA Screening

% of Men aged 55-69 who had a psa test within the past year
  • About 10–15% of men will have a false positive PSA result after 3–4 rounds of screening, meaning the test is abnormal but no cancer is found.
  • Over 10 years, more than 15% of men screened every 2 to 4 years will have at least one false positive test.
  • After a positive PSA, about 5% of men will have a negative biopsy (no cancer found).
  • False positives can cause anxiety and lead to unnecessary further testing.

Please talk to your AIM Health physician about whether PSA screening is right for you. For more information, here is a link to helpful information from the American Urologic Society: https://www.auanet.org/documents/Quality/2024%20Measures/DiagnosticExcellenceGrantBrochurePages-5.2025.pdf

Get more information here

1. American Cancer Society. Key statistics for prostate cancer. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/prostate-cancer/about/key-statistics.html. Accessed August 20, 2024.

2. Urology Care Foundation. Early-stage prostate cancer. https://www.urologyhealth.org/educational-resources/early-stage-prostate-cancer.Accessed August 20, 2024.

3. Bigler SA, Pound CR and Zhou X. A retrospective study on pathologicfeatures and racial disparities in prostate cancer. Prostate Cancer2011; 2011: 239460.

4. Tewari A, Horninger W, Pelzer AE et al. Factors contributing to theracial differences in prostate cancer mortality. BJU Int 2005; 96: 1247.

5. Tsodikov A, Gulati R, De Carvalho TM et al. Is prostate cancer differentin black men? Answers from 3 natural history models. Cancer 2017;123: 2312.

6. Jain MA, Leslie SW and Sapra A. Prostate cancer screening. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556081/. Accessed August 20,2024.

7. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for prostate cancer: U.S.Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Ann InternMed 2012; 157: 120.

8. Fleshner K, Carlsson SV and Roobol MJ. The effect of the USPSTF PSAscreening recommendation on

9. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for prostate cancer:U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement.JAMA 2018; 319: 1901.

10. Shungu N, Diaz VA, Perkins S et al. Physician attitudes and self-reported practices toward prostate cancer screening in Black andWhite men. Fam Med 2022; 54: 30.

11. National Cancer Institute. Prostate cancer screening. https://progressreport.cancer.gov/detection/prostate_cancer. Accessed August20, 2024.

12. Wei JT, Barocas D, Carlsson S et al. Early detection of prostate cancer: AUA/SUO guideline part I: prostate cancer screening. J Urol 2023;210:45.

13. Cooperberg MR, Meeks W, Fang R et al. Time trends and variationin the use of active surveillance for management of low-risk prostatecancer in the US. JAMA Netw Open 2023; 6: e231439.

14. Eastham JA, Auffenberg GB, Barocas DA et al. Clinically localizedprostate cancer: AUA/ASTRO guideline, part I: introduction, riskassessment, staging, and risk-based management. J Urol 2022; 208:10.

15. Yang D, Fineberg HV and Cosby K. Diagnostic excellence. JAMA2021; 326: 1905.

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