An influential medical panel is recommending that the decision to screen middle-aged men for prostate cancer be left up to patients and their doctors, reversing previous advice to avoid regular screening altogether.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government-appointed panel that makes healthcare recommendations, had advised against regular screening because of the risks it carried: Treatment for prostate cancer often leaves men incontinent or with erectile dysfunction and doesn’t help them live longer. Without treatment, many men who have prostate cancer do not develop any symptoms.