More than 100 MPs, including former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, have called on Health Secretary Wes Streeting to introduce screening for prostate cancer. The cross-party group, led by Sunak, handed an open letter to Streeting on Monday evening, urging the government to implement targeted testing for men at highest risk, such as Black men, those with a family history of related cancers, and carriers of BRCA gene mutations.
The letter criticises the current system of opportunistic PSA testing as 'unstructured, inefficient and unfair', describing it as a 'postcode lottery' where some men are turned away despite repeated requests. It highlights eroded trust among Black men, who are at higher risk, and the emotional and financial burdens on families from late-stage diagnoses.
The push follows former Prime Minister David Cameron's disclosure that he was treated for prostate cancer. Cameron, 59, told the Times of his diagnosis and called for a targeted screening programme. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in UK males, with around 55,000 new cases annually.
The UK National Screening Committee is expected to write to Streeting later this week with a recommendation on whether to offer checks to higher-risk men. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested screening could reduce deaths by 13%, preventing one death per 456 men invited for screening.
