Health Topic

Prostate Cancer Screening

Prostate cancer screening, which may include a PSA blood test, may be able to find prostate cancer early. Talk to your doctor to see if you should be screened.

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Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Prostate Cancer Screening

Cancer is a disease when the cells of the body grow out of control. Cancer screening is having tests to look for signs of cancer before you have any symptoms. By the time cancer causes symptoms, it may have already spread to other parts of your body. A screening test may help find cancer early, when it may be easier to treat.

Cancer screening only tells you whether you might have cancer. It doesn't diagnose cancer. If a screening test shows signs of cancer, you'll need to have other tests to find out if you do have cancer and how serious it may be.

Prostate cancer screening looks for signs of cancer in the prostate. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system. It lies just below the bladder. It makes fluid that is part of semen.

Prostate cancer is most common in people over age 50. It usually grows slowly and doesn't cause health problems. In fact, it's possible to live a long life with prostate cancer and never know you have it. But in certain cases, prostate cancer may spread to other parts of the body and can be very serious.

The goal of prostate cancer screening is to find prostate cancers that may be more likely to spread so they can be treated early.

Two tests are commonly used to screen for prostate cancer:

  • A prostate-specific antigen test, also called a PSA blood test. PSA is a protein made by your prostate. A high level of PSA in your blood may mean you have prostate cancer, but it's not proof of cancer. That's because many other things may cause high PSA levels, including: Having an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH)
  • Having other common prostate problems
  • Taking certain medicines

A PSA test or a DRE may be able to detect prostate cancer at an early stage. But it is not clear whether early detection and treatment lower the risk of dying from prostate cancer. You should talk with your provider about the benefits and harms of prostate cancer screening.

The possible benefits of prostate cancer screening include:

  • Finding and treating prostate cancer early before it spreads
  • Getting a better sense of your prostate cancer risk (based on your PSA test)
  • Peace of mind if your screening shows you're unlikely to have prostate cancer now
  • The option to choose further testing and closely monitor your prostate if your screening shows you may have cancer

The possible harms of prostate cancer screening include:

  • Getting a false positive result. This means that your PSA test shows you may have prostate cancer when you really don't. A false positive may lead to: Worry while you have more tests to look for signs of cancer.
  • A prostate biopsy. In a biopsy, a doctor removes tissue from your prostate so it can be studied under a microscope to look for cancer cells. This is the only way to diagnose cancer. The possible harms of a prostate biopsy include: Fever
  • Pain
  • Blood in semen
  • Urinary tract infection
  • Urinary incontinence
  • Erectile dysfunction
  • Problems controlling your bowel movements (BMs)

Since there are benefits and risks to prostate screening, you should talk with your provider to decide if screening is right for you. You and your provider should consider:

  • Your age. The risk of prostate cancer increases after age 50.
  • Your family health history. If members of your family have had prostate cancer, your risk may be higher.
  • Your race. Prostate cancer is more common in African Americans. They also have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer at a younger age and having more serious disease.
  • Your general health. Are you well enough to have treatment for prostate cancer if it's found?
  • What you prefer. How do you feel about the possible benefits and harms of screening, diagnosis, and treatment?

It sits within Cancers, Men and Male Reproductive System.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Cancer Institute.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Prostate Cancer Screening

166 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Related Issues

Genetics

Statistics and Research

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Prostate-Specific Antigen, Digital Rectal Examination. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Prostate Cancer Screening, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.