Prostate Cancer Screening
Debate between Bernard Jenkin and Diana Johnson(1 week, 3 days ago)
Westminster HallRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Dame Diana Johnson
I am going to make some progress, because I am keen to address the points that the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk raised. If I have time at the end, I will take an intervention.
I want to turn to the issue of ethnic minority men. I have listened very carefully to the concerns about men at higher risk who are not included in the initial screening programme, particularly black men and men with a family history of cancer. We know that black men are twice as likely as white men to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and that disparity rightly worries us all. What we do not yet know is whether screening black men would identify more aggressive cancers that need treatment, rather than slower growing cancers that may never cause harm. If screening leads to men being diagnosed and treated for cancers that would never have harmed them, we risk causing significant and lasting harm, and that cannot be right.
We should not accept the gaps in the evidence that prevent us from giving men the answers that they deserve. That is why the Government are investing and building on the Transform trial introduced by the previous Government by investing £34 million to identify better ways to screen for prostate cancer and enable all eligible black men to be invited to participate at stage 2. Prostate Cancer UK is working with charities and organisations experienced in working with black communities to encourage participation. That matters because we need stronger evidence built with the men most affected to inform future decisions about screening.
Family history is another important part of this picture. We know that it can increase a man’s risk, but the evidence does not yet tell us precisely which patterns of family history confer the greatest risk. Work is under way to refine the definition of family history and ensure that it is properly reflected in the UK National Screening Committee’s model. I totally accept that men need support now, which is why Cancer Research UK, the UK Cancer Genetics Group and the Royal College of General Practitioners are bringing together expertise to develop guidance to support GPs when advising men about familial risk.
Dame Diana Johnson
I will carry on because I want to make these points.
The important point is that the evidence and clinical practice are evolving, and our approach must be able to evolve with them. That is why the Government are funding the prostate cancer screening model used by the UK National Screening Committee for a further three years. Work is already under way on family history, risk algorithms and biomarkers, including Stockholm3, and significant evidence from Transform can be considered as it emerges. The initial programme is therefore not the end of the process. Where robust new evidence supports screening additional high-risk groups, that evidence can be considered and screening recommendations revisited.