Prostate Cancer Screening
Debate between Lord Beamish and Baroness Blake of Leeds
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
The noble Lord is my go-to person for additional information in this area, and his knowledge is helpful in this debate. My understanding—he will obviously correct me afterwards if I am wrong—is that there is a much more defined relationship, in the research that has been done into breast cancer, in the likelihood of familial pass-on. That is exactly what this research has been set up to do: to look at whether there are the same patterns with prostate cancer, which have not yet been identified.
Lord Beamish (Lab)
My Lords, the problem with prostate cancer is that most men do not have symptoms; it was certainly like that in my case. The Minister said that wide screening would lead to worsening outcomes, but I am sorry: being alive is far better than the alternative. We will have a problem: in affluent communities, men can and will ask their GPs for tests, but that will not happen in some poorer communities. What has been suggested today is continued health inequality, where men in poorer communities will not ask for that test and will continue to die.
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
My noble friend is absolutely right that inequality, as we have said, runs throughout this debate. That is why I highlighted that there is not consistent messaging going out through GPs for men who come forward to discuss their health needs with them. Far more work needs to be done. But the evidence from the committee clearly stated that the risk of harm from unnecessary treatment is high. This is exactly the sort of work that has been looked into, but that is its clear recommendation. On the evidence around the progression of the disease, how many who are diagnosed go on to have a life-threatening condition has to be at the forefront of the evidence and the further research that is being done.