Health secretary James Murray has announced the expansion of the Transform trial to include thousands more black men aged 45 to 74, but stopped short of backing population-wide testing for prostate cancer.
Murray accepted a recommendation from the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) that only a few thousand high-risk men with BRCA2 gene mutations should be screened. The committee advised against routine PSA blood tests for all men, citing potential harm.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in UK men, with over 64,000 diagnoses annually. Black men are at higher risk, yet the UKNSC said there is “ongoing uncertainty” about screening benefits for this group.
The government announced £20m in funding for prostate cancer research, including expansion of the Transform trial. Stage two will invite black men aged 45-74 who have not had a PSA test or MRI in the last five years.
Campaigner Nick Jones criticised the decision, calling it a “dereliction of duty” that entrenches injustice. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, whose brothers have prostate cancer, said the expansion is about “saving lives and closing deadly inequalities”.
