A UK government health panel has advised against introducing prostate cancer screening for most men, saying the harms would outweigh the benefits. The UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) instead recommended targeted screening only for men with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene variants, who face a higher risk of aggressive prostate cancer. These men could be screened every two years between ages 45 and 61.
The committee said widespread PSA testing would lead to high levels of overdiagnosis, detecting many slow-growing cancers that would never cause harm but could result in unnecessary treatment and lifelong side-effects. Evidence for screening Black men or men with a family history of cancer was considered too limited to justify a programme.
Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in the UK, with 55,300 diagnoses and 12,200 deaths annually. Despite this, the PSA test remains unreliable for population screening.
Reaction has been mixed: Cancer Research UK and the Royal College of GPs supported the evidence-based decision, while Prostate Cancer UK, Prostate Cancer Research, and public figures such as Stephen Fry, Rishi Sunak, and David Cameron expressed “deep disappointment,” arguing that high-risk men will continue to face late diagnoses.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he would review all evidence before the final recommendation in March.
