USPSTF Cancer Screening Guidelines: Quick Reference
Every current U.S. Preventive Services Task Force cancer screening recommendation for average-risk adults on one page, with grades, ages and intervals, in our own words and linked to the official statements.
At a glance
- Breast: mammography every 2 years from 40 to 74 (B).
- Cervical: cytology every 3 years from 21 to 29; from 30 to 65, cytology every 3 years or HPV testing (alone or with cytology) every 5 years (A).
- Colorectal: from 45 to 75 (B at 45 to 49, A at 50 to 75); selectively at 76 to 85 (C).
- Lung: yearly low-dose CT from 50 to 80 with 20 or more pack-years who smoke now or quit within 15 years (B).
- Prostate: a shared decision about PSA from 55 to 69 (C); not at 70 and older (D).
- Recommended against: ovarian, pancreatic, testicular and thyroid cancer screening in people without symptoms (D).
Key recommendations
Breast
Screen women 40 to 74 with mammography every 2 years.
Strength: Grade B2024Evidence is insufficient for screening at 75 and older, and for adding ultrasound or MRI for dense breasts after a normal mammogram.
Strength: Grade I2024
Cervical
Screen women 21 to 29 with cytology every 3 years; from 30 to 65, use cytology every 3 years, high-risk HPV testing every 5 years, or both together every 5 years.
Strength: Grade A2018Do not screen before 21, after 65 with adequate prior negative screening and no high risk, or after hysterectomy with removal of the cervix for benign disease.
Strength: Grade D2018
Colorectal
Screen adults 50 to 75.
Strength: Grade A2021Screen adults 45 to 49.
Strength: Grade B2021Screen adults 76 to 85 selectively, considering overall health and past screening.
Strength: Grade C2021Options include a yearly FIT or high-sensitivity guaiac test, stool DNA-FIT every 1 to 3 years, CT colonography or flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years, or colonoscopy every 10 years; a positive stool or CT test needs a follow-up colonoscopy.
2021
Lung
Screen yearly with low-dose CT from 50 to 80 in people with 20 or more pack-years who smoke now or quit within the past 15 years; stop after 15 years without smoking or if health limits benefit.
Strength: Grade B2021
Prostate
For men 55 to 69, decide about PSA screening individually after discussing benefits and harms.
Strength: Grade C2018Do not screen men 70 and older with PSA.
Strength: Grade D2018
Hereditary risk
Assess women with a personal or family history of breast, ovarian, tubal or peritoneal cancer, or BRCA-associated ancestry, with a familial risk tool; refer those who screen positive for genetic counseling.
Strength: Grade B2019
Recommended against
Do not screen people without symptoms for ovarian, pancreatic, testicular or thyroid cancer.
Strength: Grade D
Insufficient evidence
Evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against visual skin examination, oral cancer screening and bladder cancer screening in adults without symptoms.
Strength: Grade I
How to read the grades USPSTF
A: recommended, with high certainty of a substantial net benefit. B: recommended, with moderate certainty of a moderate to substantial benefit. C: offer selectively, because the net benefit is small. D: recommend against. I: the evidence is insufficient to weigh benefits and harms.
What changed
Compared with the earlier USPSTF statements.
Breast
- Before
- From 50 every 2 years, with a decision at 40 to 49 (2016).
- Now
- Every 2 years from 40 for all women (2024).
Colorectal
- Before
- Start at 50 (2016).
- Now
- Start at 45 (2021).
Lung
- Before
- 55 to 80 with 30 or more pack-years (2013).
- Now
- 50 to 80 with 20 or more pack-years (2021).
Cervical (draft)
- Before
- Cytology or HPV-based options from 30 to 65 (2018).
- Now
- A December 2024 draft proposed primary HPV testing every 5 years, including self-collected samples; check whether it is final.
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Questions clinicians ask
When should breast cancer screening start?
The USPSTF recommends mammography every 2 years for all women 40 to 74 (Grade B, 2024). Before 2024 it recommended starting at 50, with an individual decision in the 40s.
At what age should colorectal cancer screening start?
At 45 (Grade B), continuing through 75 (Grade A), with selective screening from 76 to 85 (Grade C).
Who qualifies for lung cancer screening?
Adults 50 to 80 with a smoking history of 20 or more pack-years who still smoke or quit within the past 15 years: yearly low-dose CT (Grade B).
Does the USPSTF recommend PSA screening?
For men 55 to 69, it is an individual decision after discussing benefits and harms (Grade C). It recommends against PSA screening at 70 and older (Grade D).
Sources
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Breast cancer: screening. Final recommendation statement, April 2024. JAMA. 2024;331(22):1918-1930. uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/bre…
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Cervical cancer: screening. Final recommendation statement, August 2018. JAMA. 2018;320(7):674-686. uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/cer…
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Colorectal cancer: screening. Final recommendation statement, May 2021. JAMA. 2021;325(19):1965-1977. uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/col…
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Lung cancer: screening. Final recommendation statement, March 2021. JAMA. 2021;325(10):962-970. uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/lun…
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Prostate cancer: screening. Final recommendation statement, May 2018. JAMA. 2018;319(18):1901-1913. uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/pro…
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. A and B recommendations. uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation-top…
Summarized in our own words by 2 Minute Medicine's physician editors from the source documents listed here. Strength and evidence grades are the guideline authors' own. This is a quick reference, not a substitute for the full guideline or for clinical judgment.
For health care professionals. 2 Minute Medicine is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the societies that write these guidelines.
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