Prevention:

There is no known prevention. Following a vegetarian, low-fat diet or one similar to the traditional Japanese diet may lower risk. Early identification (as opposed to prevention) is now possible by yearly screening of men over 40 or 50 years old through digital rectal examination (DRE) and PSA blood test.

There is a debate, however, as to whether PSA testing should be done in all men. There are several potential downsides to PSA testing. The first is that a high PSA does not always mean a patient has prostate cancer. The second is that health care providers are detecting and treating some very early-stage prostate cancers that may never have caused the patient any harm. The decision about whether to pursue a PSA should be based on a discussion between patient and health care provider.