Biggest UK prostate cancer screening trial in decades gets underway

The government has joined forces with the charity Prostate Cancer UK to launch a £42m screening programme to find the best ways of detecting country’s most common male cancer.

The programme, described as the biggest prostate cancer screening trial in decades in the UK, will see hundreds of thousands of men across the country participating.

Importantly, black men will represent one in 10 participants, as this population has a much higher risk of the disease, NHS England has said.

NHS England will carry out a suite of improvements to its men’s health web pages and the government will appoint its first ever Men’s Health Ambassador.

The ‘TRANSFORM’ trial will then use innovative screening methods such as MRI scans to detect prostate cancer.

Men at higher risk because of their age and ethnicity will be recruited through their GP practice and invited to a screening visit.

As one in four black men will develop prostate cancer – double the risk of other men – a key goal of the trial will be to ensure it helps to reduce this population’s risk of dying from the disease.

Participating men in the screening trial will be aged 50 to 75, with black men eligible from the lower age range of 45 to 75.

The programme will compare the most promising tests and provide what is hoped to be definitive evidence about the best way to screen for prostate cancer.

Prostate Cancer UK said the trial has been developed in consultation with, and with the backing of, the NHS, the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the UK government, who have committed to contribute £16m.

A men’s health ‘task and finish’ group will also be established, with an aim to bring together behavioural scientists, men’s health campaigners, experts and academics.

This group will work to identify how best to get more men to engage with their health, including a focus on better understanding male access to primary care services, such as GPs and male uptake of the NHS Health Check.

Health and social care secretary Victoria Atkins said: “Cancer survival rates continue to improve in the UK, with the disease being diagnosed at an earlier stage more often. But more must be done.

“Our hope is that this funding will help to save the lives of thousands more men through advanced screening methods that can catch prostate cancer as early as possible.”

Laura Kerby, chief executive at Prostate Cancer UK, added: “12,000 men die of prostate cancer each year and it’s the most common cancer that doesn’t have a national screening programme. It’s about time that changed.

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“That’s why we’re launching our biggest and most ambitious trial ever. It will finally give us the answers we need to develop a routine testing system and save thousands of men each year.”