UK needs national prostate cancer screening strategy to end diagnosis ‘postcode lottery’, claims charity

A charity claims a UK-wide screening strategy is the only way to solve the ‘postcode lottery’ problem of prostate cancer diagnosis.

They argue that the current system, which allows men over 50 to request a prostate-specific antigen test, results in many cases being detected too late.

Prostate Research UK believes that improvements in the tests, including better scans and safer biopsies, mean the benefits now outweigh the risks, such as false positive results and overtreatment.

A petition with more than 135,000 signatures calling on the government to introduce a nationwide screening programme for the disease will be delivered to Downing Street today.

Oliver Kemp from the charity said it would cost lives if this was not made available to everyone.

He said: ‘Early detection is our most powerful weapon against prostate cancer, yet we are failing to implement effective screening in the UK.

‘The current approach is not only inefficient but also unfair. We call on the UK National Screening Committee and the government to use recent technological advances to put this right.’

The charity claimed it was a “national tragedy”, meaning survival rates for the most common cancer in men could depend on where they live.

The Daily Mail, which revived its ‘End Needless Prostate Deaths’ campaign last year, revealed that men living in parts of the north-east are almost six times more likely to be diagnosed after their cancer has spread than those living in the country’s best-performing care facilities.

The Prostate Research UK analysis also found that patients in the northern counties were significantly less likely to have access to advanced diagnostics and treatment compared with patients in the southern counties.

This is despite research showing that treating men with advanced prostate cancer is typically four times more expensive than if the disease is detected at an early stage, costing up to £55,652 a year, compared to £13,247 for men diagnosed before the disease has spread.

Professor Mike Kirby, from the British Association of Urological Surgeons, said: ‘I have seen too often the impact of late-stage prostate cancer diagnoses.

‘We need a more proactive approach to screening, particularly for at-risk groups. While we need to be aware of overdiagnosis, changes in clinical practice have reduced the number of men being overtreated and provided clear guidelines that ensure more consistent care across the country.’

Prostate Research UK highlights that the current system, which allows men over 50 to request a prostate-specific antigen test, results in many cases being detected too late

The petition comes after the previous government launched the biggest screening initiative in 20 years. The £42 million TRANSFORM trial will test the effectiveness of diagnostic techniques including MRIs against the current standard, prostate-specific antigen blood test.

It is widely expected that this will lead to a national programme, but there are concerns that this could take years – and that thousands of men will die in the meantime.

The Mail has been campaigning to improve outcomes for prostate cancer for more than two decades.

A Department of Health spokesman said: ‘Too many cancer patients wait too long for treatment and we are determined to change that.

‘That includes finding the best way to detect prostate cancer. That’s why we’re investing £16 million in the TRANSFORM screening trial to find ways to detect prostate cancer in men as early as possible.’

Prostate cancer accounts for 14 per cent of all cancer deaths in men and is the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the UK.