Prostate Cancer: Screening
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of men in Fylde constituency eligible for the targeted prostate cancer screening programme in each of the first five years of its operation.
Answered by Mrs Sharon Hodgson
Through the introduction of England's first ever targeted prostate cancer screening programme, and through the major package of investment of over £20 million to expand research and improve treatment announced on 2 June 2026, the Government is taking an important step forward in tackling the most common cancer in men, including in the Fylde constituency.
The targeted screening programme, rolling out in 2027, will screen men between the ages of 45 and 61 years old who have a BRCA2 gene variant and a family history of prostate, breast, pancreatic, or ovarian cancer. The UK National Screening Committee has assessed that a targeted screening programme for men who meet these criteria is justified on the basis that prostate cancer occurs more often, at a younger age, and more aggressively for men in this group than for other men. This means that, for this group, the benefits of early detection and treatment would outweigh the harms associated with overdiagnosis and treatment side effects.
Current data suggest that approximately 1,500 men aged 45 to 61 years old in England will be eligible for the targeted prostate cancer screening programme. Constituency level data is unavailable, as this involves small numbers and could lead to the identification of individuals.
The Government has published an equality impact assessment which sets out the potential impact on health inequalities and any mitigations, which is available at the following link:
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