Cancer Screening Tests That May Help Detect Cancer Earlier
Updated on September 23, 2026
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Cancer screening tests — which are available in many different forms — allow doctors to look for cancer before any symptoms appear.
Typically, screenings aren’t intended to diagnose cancer. If a test comes back abnormal, your doctor will probably need to perform more tests to see if you have cancer.
Some screening tests are only performed on people who are at high risk of developing certain cancers, while others are done on a routine basis for everyone over a certain age.
Why Is It a Good Idea to Screen for Cancer?
The main goal of cancer screening is early detection. When cancer is found early, it may be easier to treat and cure than cancer that is found at a later stage.
Spotting a cancer before it spreads can lower your risk of dying.
In general, the more risk factors that a person has for cancer, such as family history, age, and others, the more likely it is that they will benefit from cancer screening.
What Types of Screenings Are Available for Cancer?
Your doctor might perform a physical exam, lab tests, imaging procedures, or genetic tests to screen for cancer.
Some common cancer screening tests include:
- Mammogram A mammogram is an X-ray of the breast. It’s used to detect breast cancer earlier. Having regular mammograms starting at around age 40 can lower your risk of dying from breast cancer.
- Breast MRI This technique uses magnets and radio waves to capture pictures of the breast. It’s typically used with a mammogram on women who are at high risk of breast cancer, such as those with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes.
- Breast Exam During this exam, your doctor performs a physical test to check for lumps on the breasts and under the arms.
- Pap Test With a Pap test (or Pap smear), doctors collect cells and mucus from the cervix and surrounding area. This sample is sent to a lab to be tested for abnormal cells that could turn into cervical cancer. Sometimes, doctors will perform an HPV test along with a Pap test to screen for the human papillomavirus (HPV).
- PSA Test A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test is performed to detect prostate cancer in men. Guidelines state it can be performed in men at average risk of prostate cancer starting at age 45 and those at higher risk beginning at age 40.
- Colonoscopy and Sigmoidoscopy These tests use a thin tube with a camera on the end to look inside the colon. A colonoscopy examines the entire colon, while a sigmoidoscopy (rarely used) looks only at the lower large intestine. These tests can detect abnormal growths, called polyps, which can develop into colon cancer.
- Fecal Occult Blood Test A fecal occult blood test is used to check for blood in the stool, which may indicate that you have polyps or colon cancer. A fecal immunochemical test (FIT) and a guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (gFOBT) are examples of this test.
- Multitargeted Stool DNA (mt-sDNA) and RNA (mt-sRNA) Tests These tests look for hidden blood in the stool and check for changes in DNA and RNA that may indicate cancer or precancerous growths. These tests include Cologuard and Colosense.
- Shield Blood-Based Test This test examines a sample of your blood for signs of colorectal cancer or precancerous polyps.
- CT Scan Low-dose computed tomography, also called a low-dose CT scan, is used to screen for lung cancer. It involves using an X-ray machine to scan the body and provide images of your lungs.
- CA-125 This blood test may be recommended to detect ovarian cancer in women who are at high risk. It’s often used along with a transvaginal ultrasound.
- Skin Exam With a skin exam, you or your doctor look for suspicious spots or changes in your skin. This test is often recommended for people who are at high risk of skin cancer.
- Alpha-Fetoprotein This blood test is used to detect liver cancer in people at high risk and is often performed along with an ultrasound.
Can Cancer Be Detected in a Blood Test?
In addition to the CA-125 test, a blood test for ovarian cancer, there’s a blood-based test called Shield that’s approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to screen for colorectal cancer. Despite being FDA-approved and recommended as a screening test by the American Cancer Society, it’s not a preferred method of screening. The blood test is not as sensitive as other methods at detecting precancerous growths and some types of cancer.
Researchers are working to identify a blood test that could effectively detect multiple types of cancer, known as a multi-cancer detection (MCD) test.
In a clinical validation study of 223 patients, investigators analyzed a blood test called Cancerguard for its ability to screen for multiple common cancers. The test looks for protein markers and pieces of DNA in the blood known as circulating tumor DNA. Results showed that the test detected cancer with a sensitivity of 56 percent (meaning that if there are 100 people with known cancer, it will detect cancer in only 56 of them) and a specificity of 97 percent (identifying people without cancer).
Another example of an MCD test is the Galleri test, which preliminary data has found has a specificity of 99.5 percent and a positive predictive value (the likelihood that a person who has a positive test result does have the disease) of 52 percent.
However, more long-term research is needed to better understand the benefits versus the risks of these tests.
While available, MCD tests are not FDA-approved, and it would likely be an out-of-pocket expense should you choose to take one. MCD tests do not replace regular screening tests, and an abnormal result will require additional testing to determine whether you have cancer or not.
Who Should Get Screened, When, and How Often?
Many medical organizations have developed cancer screening guidelines. The American Cancer Society supports the following recommendations:
- Breast Cancer Women ages 40 to 44 can start annual mammograms if they choose to do so. All women with an average risk of breast cancer should begin yearly screenings by age 45. At 55, women can continue yearly mammograms or have them every other year. Regular screening should continue as long as a woman is in good health. Those at high risk of the disease may start earlier screening and might also need a breast MRI, along with standard mammograms.
- Colon and Rectal Cancer Most men and women should begin colon cancer screening at age 45, but you may need to start earlier if you have certain risk factors. Many different screening tests can be used, so ask your doctor which one is best for your situation. A colonoscopy is typically performed every 10 years for most healthy people.
- Cervical Cancer Women between the ages of 25 and 65 should get a primary HPV test every five years. If a primary HPV test isn’t available, you may opt for an HPV test with a Pap test every five years or a Pap test every three years. Women over age 65 who’ve had regular screenings and normal results no longer have to be screened for cervical cancer, although you may need to be tested more often or for a longer period of time if you’re at high risk of developing this cancer.
- Prostate Cancer The American Cancer Society recommends that men start talking to their doctors about the pros and cons of screening for prostate cancer at age 50. If you’re African American or if your father or brother had prostate cancer, you should have this discussion starting at age 45. However, updated guidelines from the American Urological Association and the Society of Urologic Oncology say that doctors may start offering PSA testing to men of average risk at ages 45 to 50, while those at an elevated risk should be tested as young as 40. Talk to your doctor about when starting screening may be right for you.
- Lung Cancer The American Cancer Society recommends lung cancer screening for people 50 to 80 years old who smoke or used to smoke and have a history of smoking for 20 pack years (multiply the number of packs per day by the number of smoking years; 20 pack years means you smoked one pack a day for 20 years or two packs a day for 10 years).
People with a high risk of developing other cancers, such as skin cancer, ovarian cancer, or liver cancer, might be given screening tests to detect these diseases earlier.
It’s important to talk to your doctor about your family history and other risk factors, so that you can come up with a screening strategy that fits your needs.
Not All Cancer Screening Tests Are Foolproof
Although many screening tests have been shown to save lives, there is debate in the medical community about cancer screenings.
Not all screening tests are useful, and many can pose risks. For instance, the PSA test is controversial because it sometimes detects prostate cancers that are so slow-growing as not to be life-threatening, which sometimes prompts overtreatment.
Some screening tests can produce inaccurate results, such as a “false positive” or a “false negative.” A false positive means your test comes back abnormal even though you don’t have cancer. This can cause unnecessary worry and anxiety. A false negative result comes back normal when you really have cancer. This can lead to delayed treatment, and sometimes, a worse prognosis.
Another potential issue with early screening is that finding the cancer may or may not improve a person’s health or the chance of a cure.
Discuss the benefits and risks of cancer screening with your doctor.
Resources We Trust
- Mayo Clinic: Cancer
- Cleveland Clinic: Cancer Screening
- American Cancer Society: American Cancer Society Guidelines for the Early Detection of Cancer
- National Cancer Institute: Screening Tests
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Cancer Screening Tests
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
- Cancer Screening Overview (PDQ)–Patient Version. National Cancer Institute. October 20, 2023.
- Screening Tests. National Cancer Institute. September 27, 2024.
- Early Detection of Prostate Cancer: AUA/SUO Guideline (2026). American Urological Association.
- Colorectal Cancer Screening Tests. American Cancer Society. August 24, 2026.
- Multi-Cancer Detection (MCD) Tests. American Cancer Society. October 2, 2025.
- From CancerSEEK to Cancerguard: How Early Research Sparked a New Era in Cancer Detection. Lustgarten Foundation. September 12, 2025.
- Galleri Early Detection Test May Shift Timing of Cancer Detection, Reducing Stage IV Diagnoses. American Society of Clinical Oncology. May 30, 2026.
- American Cancer Society Guidelines for the Early Detection of Cancer. American Cancer Society. May 27, 2026.
- Should I Get Screened for Prostate Cancer? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. February 11, 2025.
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