Prostate cancer has become the most common cancer in the UK, according to Macmillan Cancer Support, following a campaign by Olympic legend Sir Chris Hoy encouraging more men to get NHS checks.
The charity's analysis shows the number of men living with prostate cancer in the UK has surged by 100,000 since 2020, reaching around 600,000. This compares with around 500,000 in 2020.
68,000 new diagnoses each year
Macmillan's figures show 68,000 men are newly diagnosed in the UK each year - the equivalent of one diagnosis every eight minutes. This compares to 59,000 new breast cancer diagnoses annually.
The rise follows a campaign by Sir Chris Hoy, who has a terminal diagnosis, supported by charities and a host of politicians calling for more men to get routine checks.
Myths preventing checks
The charity has warned that "myths" surrounding the disease could be preventing men from getting checked. Currently over-50s can request an NHS check.
Dr Anthony Cunliffe, lead medical adviser at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: "One of the biggest misunderstandings I hear is that feeling well means you cannot have prostate cancer."
"Many people are surprised to learn that, in reality, prostate cancer often develops without symptoms in its early stages, which is why it's important to have a conversation with your GP if you're worried."
Symptoms to watch for
The charity said some men with prostate cancer will not see symptoms for many years, and symptoms usually occur when the cancer is large enough to press on the urethra - the tube which passes urine.
When symptoms occur they include: difficulty urinating; needing to urinate more often than usual, especially at night; a feeling that the bladder has not been completely emptied; an urgency when needing the toilet; blood in urine; blood in semen.
Macmillan said it is important for men to speak to their GP if they have any of these symptoms. Dr Cunliffe added: "Prostate cancer generally occurs in men over 50 but it can develop earlier in some groups, including black men and men with a family history of prostate cancer."
Experts on the rise
Consultant surgeon Ben Lamb, lecturer at the Barts Cancer Institute, said: "The recent growth in the number of men living with the disease is more likely to be driven principally by increased and earlier diagnosis combined with better survival."
"This is not simply a story of 'more cancer'. It is a story of a growing population of men who may live for many years with the consequences of diagnosis and treatment."
Dr Alastair Lamb, clinical reader at St Bartholomew's Hospital, said: "There's no evidence whatsoever that prostate cancer is on the increase. Whenever prostate cancer incidence rises it's always due to diagnostic practice rather than increased in underlying presence of disease... the fact that death rates are static confirm that there is no increase in disease."
Sir Chris Hoy sparked a national debate as to whether men with no symptoms should be offered the PSA test. The six-time Olympic champion is calling for more men to be proactively offered tests and at an earlier age. Currently men over 50 can ask for a PSA test from their NHS GP. If levels are raised they will receive further tests and scans.
But earlier this year the UK National Screening Committee recommended against screening all men using the blood test, saying it is "likely to cause more harm than good". The UKNSC used population modelling and concluded current blood tests are not reliable enough and likely to over-treat men for too many benign tumours which would have never caused them harm. Prostate cancer can grow very slowly in some men, and current screening methods struggle to separate out fast growing disease from harmless tumours.
