All black men aged 45-74 to be offered screening for prostate cancer

Want LBC stories before everyone else? Set us as your Preferred Source on Google

Ministers have set aside £20 million for the Transform trial to allow eligible black men, who are twice as likely to get prostate cancer, to get the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test.

It comes after health bosses rejected calls for a universal screening programme, with the committee advising the government recommending that only men carrying BRCA2 genetic mutations between 45 and 61 should be offered the test.

The UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) recommended against screening for any other at risk groups, including black men, saying there is “ongoing uncertainty on whether screening would cause more good than harm”.

Charities and Lord David Cameron, who was previously treated for prostate cancer, warned the move would lead to more men dying as they hit out at the decision.

Read more: Comedian Bobby Davro diagnosed with prostate cancer

Read more: Rationing prostate cancer screenings means writing off thousands of men's lives, writes Nick Ferrari

The final decision differs from the draft recommendation published in November, which said men with both BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations should be screened.

The UKNSC said the main harms of population screening “include incontinence and erectile dysfunction in men who do not need treatment” for the disease.

The government has accepted this decision and said it will offer men between 45-61 who carry the BRCA2 gene variant and have a family history of prostate, breast, pancreatic or ovarian cancer will be offered screening.

To be eligible men must also be a resident of the UK and can't have had a PSA test or prostate MRI scan in the last 5 years.

Of 100 men with a BRCA2 variant, between 21 and 35 of them will develop prostate cancer before the age of 80.

The programme is expected to be rolling out in 2027.

The government will also invest £2.8 million in widening access to focal therapies, less invasive treatments that target prostate cancer.

Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy, said: "Tackling prostate cancer is personal for me. I've got two brothers living with the disease, and I’ve seen firsthand the toll it takes on individuals and their loved ones.

"Helping more Black men take part in this research is about saving lives, closing deadly inequalities and making sure we understand what works best for those most at risk."

Health and Social Care Secretary, James Murray said: “This is a major step forward in how we tackle prostate cancer - focusing on those most at risk, improving the treatments available, and backing the research we need to close the evidence gaps and save lives.

“We’re following the science to make sure men get earlier answers and better care, and to avoid doing unnecessary harm.

“By investing in research through trials such as Transform, we're building a fairer, more effective prostate cancer screening system for the futures”

The expansion of the trial is subject to initial results from stage one being successful. In stage two, all eligible black men aged 45 to 74 would be invited.

Director of policy at Cancer Research UK, Dr Ian Walker, said: “The government’s decision to accept the UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation for a targeted prostate cancer screening programme is in line with the currently available evidence.

"We appreciate this will be disappointing for some, but screening must be evidence-led, and we welcome the Committee’s assurance to assess any new evidence quickly.

"Cancer Research UK-funded treatments like abiraterone have made a huge difference for men with prostate cancer, and we continue to invest in research for new tests and treatments.

“Meanwhile, we will be working with the government and wider cancer community to improve guidance for GPs to enable them to support men worried about their risk of prostate cancer.”