Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer symptoms, risks and screening
Understand the symptoms, key risk factors, including age and family history, and the benefits and limitations of PSA testing.
Last updated: 11 March 2026
Sources and references 
What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?
Early prostate cancer rarely causes symptoms. Even people diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer may have no symptoms.
Difficulty passing urine is not always a symptom of prostate cancer, but you should see your doctor if you are worried or the following symptoms are ongoing:
- frequent or sudden need to urinate
- blood in the urine or semen
- a slow flow of urine
- needing to get up at night to pass urine
- feeling like your bladder is not empty after passing urine
- unexplained weight loss
- pain in bones, e.g. the neck, back, hips or pelvis.
Risk factors for prostate cancer
Factors that increase the risk of developing prostate cancer include:
- getting older – especially being aged 50 and over (more than 90% of people diagnosed with prostate cancer are aged 55 and over)
- family history of prostate, breast or ovarian cancer
- being of African or African-American descent.
While prostate cancer is less common if you are aged 50 and under, people aged 40 and over may have a higher than average risk of developing prostate cancer later in life if their prostate specific antigen (PSA) test results are higher than the typical range for their age.
Screening and early detection
Cancer screening is testing to look for cancer in people who don’t have any symptoms. The benefit of screening is that the cancer can be found and treated early. However, it is important that the benefits of screening outweigh any potential harms from treatment side effects. There is currently no national screening program for prostate cancer.
Prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test
The prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test may identify fast-growing cancers that can spread to other parts of the body and would benefit from treatment. It may also find slow-growing cancers unlikely to be harmful, for which having treatment may cause significant side effects.
Some people without symptoms of prostate cancer choose to have regular PSA tests. It is important to talk to your doctor about the benefits and risks in your particular circumstances before having a PSA.
If you choose to have regular PSA tests, the current guidelines recommend that:
- men with no family history of prostate cancer have PSA testing every 2 years from age 50–69
- men with a family history of prostate cancer have PSA testing every 2 years starting from age 40–45 (depending on how strong the family history is) to age 69.
At-home PSA test kits are not recommended. The tests could be unreliable and do not come with qualified medical advice about the results.
A PSA screening test, requested by your doctor, should be available to you for free. Your doctor will also be able to explain what the results of your test mean, and can also refer you for other tests you may need. For more information, visit the Clinical practice guidelines for PSA testing.
Sources and references
This content has been developed by Cancer Council NSW on behalf of all other state and territory Cancer Councils as part of a National Cancer Information Subcommittee initiative. We thank the reviewers: Prof Declan Murphy, Consultant Urologist, Director – Genitourinary Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and The University of Melbourne, VIC; Alan Barlee, Consumer; Dr Patrick Bowden, Radiation Oncologist, Epworth Hospital, Richmond, VIC; Bob Carnaby, Consumer; Dr Megan Crumbaker, Medical Oncologist, St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, NSW; Henry McGregor, Health Physiotherapist, Adelaide Men’s Health Physio, SA; Jessica Medd, Senior Clinical Psychologist, Department of Urology, Concord Repatriation General Hospital and Headway Health, NSW; Dr Gary Morrison, Shine a Light (LGBTQIA+ Cancer Support Group); Caitriona Nienaber, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council WA; Graham Rees, Consumer; Kerry Santoro, Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse Consultant, Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, SA; Prof Phillip Stricker, Chairman, Department of Urology, St Vincent’s Private Hospital, NSW; Dr Sylvia van Dyk, Brachytherapy Lead, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC. We also thank the health professionals, consumers and editorial teams who have worked on previous editions of this title
Prostate cancer
Cancer Council 13 11 20
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