The NHS’s first prostate cancer screening programme could receive approval this week from the government’s National Screening Committee.
The National Screening Committee (NSC) meets on Thursday to decide whether to introduce wider screening to detect disease earlier.
Any rollout would likely focus on those at highest risk, including people with a family history or specific genetic mutations.
Prostate cancer affects around 63,000 men a year in the UK, causing about 12,000 deaths annually.
The NHS currently uses PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood tests, which measure a protein made by the prostate, and MRI scans (magnetic resonance imaging).
Concerns about overdiagnosis have eased with newer tests and imaging. Major studies indicate screening reduces prostate cancer deaths by 13 per cent, with benefits sustained over decades.
Researchers from University Medical Centre Rotterdam found one death was prevented for every 456 men invited for PSA testing.
The team said the findings support a more targeted screening approach.
A separate analysis from Prostate Cancer Research found targeted checks could cost £18 per patient, less than breast cancer screening.
The report suggested a targeted programme would increase demand for PSA tests, MRI scans and biopsies by 23 per cent, manageable with modest NHS staffing increases.
“We now have overwhelming evidence to back screening,” said David James, a director at the charity.
“No man should die just because his cancer wasn’t found in time.”
The committee is expected to recommend targeted screening for those at highest risk, including black men, people with a family history and carriers of specific genetic mutations.
“The recommendation from the UK National Screening Committee will be a pivotal moment in the history of men’s health in this country, and it can’t come a moment too soon,” said Chiara De Biase, director of health services at Prostate Cancer UK.
“Prostate cancer is curable if found early, but 12,000 of our dads, brothers, sons and friends die from it each year.”
It’s the most common cancer in England, and yet it is the last major cancer without a screening programme.
“We’ve reached a tipping point in the UK, with too many men dying from a curable disease and worse outcomes for men at higher risk like Black men and men from working class communities.
“It’s about time for a change.”
Last week, the first men were invited to join the Transform project, a £42m prostate cancer screening trial.
More than 300,000 men will be recruited, making it the biggest prostate cancer screening trial in 20 years.
About 16,000 men will be recruited for the first stage to compare combinations of PSA tests, saliva-based genetic tests and fast MRI scans against the current NHS diagnostic pathway.
Health secretary Wes Streeting described the trial launch as marking “a turning point”, with prospects for earlier diagnosis when treatment is more effective and survival rates higher.
“When the UK National Screening Committee share their initial findings on screening for prostate cancer, I will look carefully at their recommendations as I am determined to bring about change,” he said.
Implementation of any recommended screening programme would likely take three to five years.
Professor Nick James said the case for PSA screening is becoming “increasingly strong”, adding that data is “already sufficient” for a national programme.
Former Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak has argued that a prostate cancer screening programme would have a “generational impact” on men’s health, stating: “It’s time to move from reactive care to proactive prevention.”
