Prostate Cancer: Screening
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that guidance to primary care clinicians on screening for prostate cancer includes reference to the potential impact of the BRCA2 gene variation on risk levels.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme provides guidance for general practitioners on how to counsel men who have no symptoms but wish to have a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test for prostate cancer. It highlights the potential benefits and harms of PSA testing so that men including those at higher risk, such as men with a family history, can make an informed decision about whether to have the test.
The UK National Screening Committee is carrying out an evidence review of prostate cancer screening which includes looking at the evidence for targeted screening of specific high-risk groups, such as men over 50, Black men and those with a family history, such as carriers of the BRCA2 mutation. This will determine whether a PSA test-based screening programme for high-risk groups could provide more good than harm.
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