Prostate Cancer: Screening
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of prostate cancer cases that could be detected at an earlier stage through the introduction of targeted screening for men at higher risk of developing prostate cancer.
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.
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 these high risk men 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.
It is estimated that approximately 1,500 men in England will be eligible for the targeted prostate cancer screening programme. Based on similar programmes for people with genetic risk factors, uptake is expected to be high.
This is a new programme which will potentially increase early diagnosis rates and survival in the eligible population, who, particularly at younger ages, have an increased risk of prostate cancer, with studies suggesting risks approximately five to seven times higher than average.
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