Prostate cancer patients to be offered new 'beam therapy' expected to free up thousands of hospital appointments
Trials have found the new therapy to be just as effective as the traditional version
Prostate cancer patients are set to be offered new radiation therapy expected to spare them daily treatment and spare them from daily hospital trips.
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Approximately 17,000 men will be eligible to receive the new form of treatment in a UK-first which in turn will dramatically reduce the amount of time spent on wards and cause fewer side effects.
Patients graded as low or intermediate risk will be offered the stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) on the NHS.
They will then be treated in five sessions every fortnight. They take around 15 minutes each and will be used as an alternative to the 20 sessions of traditional radiotherapy over the curse of at least a month.
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Dubbed the "multi-beam" therapy, experts say it just as effective as usual treatments while also capable of reducing some side effects due to it avoiding harming healthy cells.
The rollout could also free up around 50,000 appointments for prostate cancer treatment per year.
NHS chief executive Sir Jim Mackey, told The Telegraph: "This cutting-edge treatment will be transformative for thousands of men’s lives, helping the NHS provide far more powerful and convenient care to stop their prostate cancer spreading.
"Having been proven effective in keeping cancer under control, this technology will not only help reduce the risk of certain side effects, but also the major to and fro burden of hospital treatment, which can be really draining for so many patients and their families."
Health Secretary James Murray described the therapy as "an important step" in delivering the government's national cancer plan.
Mr Murray added: "Thousands of men with prostate cancer will benefit from this pioneering precision radiotherapy, helping them access faster, more effective treatment while reducing the strain that cancer care can place on patients and their families.
“Backed by the Government’s £70m investment in radiotherapy machines, this treatment targets tumours with greater accuracy, helping to reduce side effects and allowing many patients to complete their treatment in a fraction of the time compared with conventional radiotherapy."
It comes days after former Prime Minister David Cameron criticised health authorities for refusing to roll out a universal prostate cancer screening programme.
The National Screening Committee chose not recommend universal screening in favour of targeted screening for men who have a gene that puts them at higher risk.
Taking to X, Lord Cameron, who has been treated for prostate cancer previously, said: "[The] recommendation from the National Screening Committee on prostate cancer screening is deeply disappointing and a real step backwards.
"I urge the new Health Secretary to reject it and go further - offering targeted screening for the most at-risk men.
"As I warned last November following the initial advice, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among British men.
"We are letting down too many men, their families and loved-ones if we don’t push for a wider screening programme that includes all high-risk groups.
"Prostate cancer can be symptomless early on - as it was in my case. That’s why screening is essential - catching the cancers early when they can be more effectively and successfully treated, like with me."