Screenings to Detect Prostate Cancer Early – One of the best ways to detect prostate cancer early is through screening—testing to find the disease in men with no prostate cancer symptoms. Screening can help find some types of cancer at an early stage when they may have a better prognosis. In fact, screening alone is credited for one-third of the recent decrease in prostate cancer deaths. The two most common screening tests for prostate cancer are: Digital rectal exam (DRE) and Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. Support free test community.