A UK health advisory panel has recommended against offering prostate cancer screening to most men, saying the risks of overdiagnosis outweigh the benefits. Charities and public figures have expressed “deep disappointment” at the draft decision.
The UK National Screening Committee advised that only men with confirmed BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene variants—which increase the risk of aggressive prostate cancer—should be offered screening every two years between ages 45 and 61. Screening all men, or those with a family history or Black men (who face higher risk), was not recommended due to a lack of solid evidence and concerns about unnecessary treatment for slow-growing cancers.
Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in the UK, with more than 55,000 diagnoses and 12,000 deaths each year. Despite this, the PSA blood test used for screening is considered unreliable and prone to detecting cancers that would never cause harm.
Cancer Research UK and the Royal College of GPs supported the evidence-based decision. However, Prostate Cancer UK, Prostate Cancer Research, Stephen Fry, Rishi Sunak, and David Cameron criticised it, arguing it could worsen late diagnoses among high-risk groups.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he would review the evidence thoroughly before the final recommendation in March, while continuing efforts to improve early cancer detection across the NHS.
