New Prostate Cancer Guidelines: What Do They Mean for You?

Prostate cancer is Australia’s most commonly diagnosed cancer, with almost 29,000 Australian men expected to be diagnosed in 2026. This September, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month comes with an important development: new national guidelines for early detection, released in August to replace the 2016 guidelines.

The updated advice brings together a decade of advances in testing and care. Its aim is to find cancers that could cause serious harm while reducing unnecessary investigations and treatment. At its heart is an informed conversation with your GP about your individual risk.

Understanding your risk

The likelihood of prostate cancer increases with age. PCFA’s guide to the 2026 guidelines also highlights these higher-risk factors:

• Having a brother diagnosed with prostate cancer.

• Having a father diagnosed before age 65.

• Having at least two second-degree relatives, such as grandfathers or uncles, who died from prostate cancer.

• Being of Black sub-Saharan African ancestry.

• Having a confirmed inherited change in the BRCA2 gene.

These factors are a starting point. Other family patterns may also matter, so tell your GP about prostate cancer on either side of your family, including relatives diagnosed at older ages.

Testing is generally considered from age 50, but may begin earlier for people at higher risk. Your GP can help determine the timing that suits your circumstances.

Why the conversation matters

The usual starting point is a blood test measuring prostate-specific antigen, or PSA. However, a raised PSA does not necessarily mean cancer, and a normal result cannot completely rule it out.

Testing can help detect an important cancer earlier. It can also lead to further investigations or identify a slow-growing cancer that might never cause harm. Understanding these possibilities is part of deciding whether to test.

This is where shared decision-making becomes valuable. Your GP can explain how your family history, previous results and overall health affect the decision, while giving you room to discuss what concerns you. A relative’s diagnosis, for example, may leave you wondering both about your own risk and what an abnormal result would mean.

You do not need to arrive knowing which test to request. A useful starting question is: “Given my health and family history, should I consider prostate cancer testing?”

If this has been on your mind, contact Summers Family Practice to arrange a discussion. Bring what you know about your family history and any questions you would like answered, so we can work towards a plan together.