A prostate cancer screening programme would be a ‘legacy-defining advance for men’s health’ Wes Streeting has been told, in a letter signed by more than 120 MPs.
Former Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was tonight joined by Labour and Liberal Democrat politicians as he hand-delivered the message to the health secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care.
It says the UK can ‘lead the world’ in ending needless deaths from the disease but ‘risks falling behind’ if it fails to introduce targeted routine checks in line with some other countries.
Prostate cancer is now the most common cancer in the UK, with 63,000 cases and 12,000 deaths each year – but unlike breast, bowel and lung cancer, there is currently no national screening programme.
The UK National Screening Committee, which advises ministers, will meet on Thursday to consider recent developments in prostate cancer diagnosis before issuing its recommendations.
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 particular genetic mutations.
The MPs’ letter, seen by the Daily Mail, says: ‘We write united by a belief that no man should die because of his postcode, ethnicity, or GP access.
‘This week, the UK National Screening Committee meets to decide on prostate cancer screening. This is a defining moment for men’s health.
MPs Helen Morgan, Rishi Sunak and Calvin Bailey deliver signed letter to Wes Streeting
The Daily Mail is campaigning to end needless prostate deaths
‘The Government must be ready to act so that those at highest risk are no longer left behind.’
They present ‘compelling evidence’ that the arguments against screening, which are historically based on cost and over-diagnosis, are outdated.
A major study last month found screening men for prostate cancer slashes their risk of dying from the disease by 13 per cent, with one such death prevented for every 456 men checked – a figure that is comparable to existing breast and bowel cancer screening programmes.
Modern MRI techniques have reduced the harms of screening, such as unnecessary biopsies, by 79 per cent and modelling shows a targeted programme would cost the NHS just £18 for each man invited to checks.
Furthermore, catching the disease earlier through screening could save the health service money, as treating late-stage cancer costs £127,000 per patient, compared to £13,000 in the early stages, the letter adds.
It says modern diagnostic pathways have ‘transformed safety’ and are ‘entirely different’ to when the Committee last considered screening.
Men now have an MRI before a biopsy is considered, biopsies are carried out using safer methods and low-grade cancers, which are less likely to pose a threat to health, can be identified and monitored without the need for surgery.
The first UK men were last week invited to join a ‘game-changing’ prostate cancer trial that is aiming to find the best combination of tests and scans for detecting the disease.
David Cameron, another former Conservative prime minister, has been treated for prostate cancer and is backing the campaign for a targeted screening programme
But the letter – coordinated by Prostate Cancer Research and signed by 125 MPs – urges immediate action, saying men will continue to die if decision-makers wait for ‘perfect’ data.
‘Harms that once justified inaction have largely been engineered out,’ it adds.
‘These advances mean we now have the tools to deliver screening safely and effectively…waiting would entrench inequality and allow preventable deaths.
‘Evidence is strong enough to act now.’
Mr Sunak said: ‘The evidence is now clear. Modern diagnosis is safer, more accurate, and has removed the harms that once justified inaction.
‘With thousands of men still being diagnosed too late each year, when their cancer is no longer curable, we cannot continue with a system that relies on chance.
‘A targeted screening programme for high-risk men is practical, affordable, and urgently needed.
‘We must take this opportunity to save lives and make a generational difference to men’s health.’
The letter, which was also delivered by Labour MP Calvin Bailey, chair of all all-party group on prostate cancer, and Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, the party’s health and social care spokesperson, concludes: ‘Introducing targeted screening would be a legacy-defining advance for men’s health.’
David Cameron, another former Conservative prime minister, this week revealed he has been treated for prostate cancer after requesting a check and gave his backing to the campaign for a targeted screening programme.
Ms Morgan said: ‘We already have successful screening programmes for breast and bowel cancer, yet catching the most common cancer in men is left to chance.
‘This is a glaring gap in our prevention-first health strategy.’
Mr Bailey said: ‘This is a defining moment.
‘We are seeing deepening inequalities where men at increased risk are being turned away despite requesting tests, only to be diagnosed when it is too late.
‘Families are bearing the emotional and financial devastation of a disease we have the tools to catch.
‘We are handing this letter to the Health Secretary calling for change.
‘The evidence is there, the political support is there – we just need it recognised by the National Screening Committee.’
Oliver Kemp, chief executive of Prostate Cancer Research, said: ‘It is time to stop hiding behind outdated arguments.
‘We know that pre-biopsy MRIs have halved overdiagnosis rates and overtreatment rates have fallen massively in the last decade.
‘Other nations are moving ahead with risk-adapted testing.
‘If the UK delays again, we are choosing to fall behind and fail another generation of men.
‘Our campaign is calling on the public to join us in demanding a programme which we know to be practical, affordable, and morally essential.’