Give all males life-saving prostate most cancers assessments, star survivors Jeremy Clarkson and Sir Stephen Fry demand
Jeremy Clarkson, Sir Stephen Fry and other top figures have called on the new health secretary to ‘change the story on prostate cancer‘ and reverse the ‘wrong’ decision to restrict screening.
Former prime ministers Lord David Cameron and Rishi Sunak are among those who have signed the letter to Yvette Cooper, who was appointed to the role in July.
They say they are all ‘united by a shared belief that no man in this country should die of a cancer that could have been caught in time’.
It comes after the UK National Screening Committee ruled in May that prostate cancer screening should be limited to just 1,500 men aged 45 to 61 who have a particular genetic mutation and a family history of an associated cancer.
The letter highlights the inequity of the decision, saying: ‘Everyone else at high risk doesn’t have guaranteed access to a test that could save their life.
‘We believe that’s wrong, and that you, as Secretary of State, have both the evidence and the power to overturn the ruling.’
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in Britain, with 63,000 cases and 12,000 deaths every year – one every 45 minutes.
Many are diagnosed too late for treatment to succeed.
Jeremy Clarkson, who this week won a National Television Award for his Amazon Prime series Clarkson’s Farm, wants more men to access prostate cancer screening
Black men face a one in four lifetime risk, double that of the general population, and men whose fathers or brothers have had the disease face a similar threat.
The Daily Mail is campaigning to end needless prostate cancer deaths and for a national prostate cancer screening programme, initially targeted at high-risk men, such as those who are black, have a family history of the disease or specific genetic mutations.
In their letter, the signatories, which also include Sir Steve McQueen, Colin McFarlane and Nick Jones, say: ‘Unless a man carries one specific genetic variant, there is still no route to a test beyond hoping a GP takes his concerns seriously.
‘That cannot be right.’
Appealing directly to Ms Cooper, the men, who are all prostate cancer survivors, add: ‘You have the chance to change the story on prostate cancer and make a generational difference to men’s health. We urge you to take it.’
They ask her to reconsider the Committee’s recommendation and ‘commit to a targeted national screening programme’.
‘Act now, rather than wait a decade for further trial data while men continue to die. Ensure that risk, not luck, decides who is tested,’ they conclude.
The letter says MRI scans have made diagnosis safer and more accurate than ever and stresses it costs £13,000 to treat prostate cancer when caught early but £127,000 if caught late.
Sir Stephen Fry is a signatory to the letter, which says it is ‘wrong’ that men at high risk of prostate cancer do not have access to screening
The letter to health and social care secretary Yvette Cooper (pictured) says she has the ‘chance to change the story on prostate cancer and make a generational difference to men’s health’
A national programme targeted at those at highest risk would cost £25 million per year – 0.01 per cent of the NHS budget.
Meanwhile, Up to 10,000 men aged 45 to 74 will be offered a £99 prostate cancer test that has been found to detect more than twice as many aggressive cancers as standard screening methods.
The blood test, named Stockholm3, has been available privately since 2023 and was used to help diagnose former TopGear host Jeremy Clarkson with prostate cancer last year.
The test is being offered as a private screening service, with around 8,000 men expected to pay a subsidised price of £99, compared with around £500 or more at some private clinics.
A further 2,000 tests will be offered for free to men who might otherwise struggle to afford one.
Men who have not previously been diagnosed with prostate cancer will be eligible for the service, which will be initially offered at Nuffield Health’s Barbican Medical Centre in London.
Last month, the Government withdrew long-standing guidance that said men were entitled to request a PSA blood test to help detect prostate cancer.
Guidance has set out the right since 2002, with a recent version stating: ‘The PSA test is available free to men who request it.’
The Department of Health and Social Care says the previous guidance did not amount to a right to a test and that the final decision was always intended to lie with the GP.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘We pay tribute to the former Prime Ministers and other figures who have campaigned tirelessly to raise awareness and improve treatment of prostate cancer, and we understand their strength of feeling on this issue.
‘Following the recommendations of the National Screening Committee earlier this year, we have begun work to implement England’s first targeted prostate screening programme.
‘We have also invested over £20 million to improve prostate cancer research, including increasing the availability of focal therapy, and funding the expansion of the TRANSFORM trial, which is designed to find the best way to screen for the condition.
‘This will mean more research, better treatments and more lives saved in the years to come.
‘It has always been understood that the benefits of screening programmes must be balanced against the risks, but the National Screening Committee is always prepared to reassess its approach where new evidence becomes available, and will continue working to strike the right balance between risks and benefits.’
