Require PSA blood tests to be proactively offered to men at highest risk of prostate cancer. Review emerging evidence from the TRANSFORM trial to inform a future national screening programme for prostate cancer. We believe this will make the health system fairer and reduce inequality.
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Black men, men with a family history of prostate cancer, and men from socio-economically deprived areas are disproportionately impacted by prostate cancer. We believe that detecting and diagnosing prostate cancer is now safer and more accurate than ever. Prostate Cancer UK’s research suggests that harms of diagnosing prostate cancer have reduced by 79%. Yet it remains the second biggest cancer killer in men in the UK. We think it is time to review NHS guidelines on the PSA blood test and invest in an early detection programme.
Friday 12th September 2025
The Government has no current plans to require PSA blood tests to be proactively offered to men at highest risk of prostate cancer, because the evidence does not support this.
The Department of Health and Social Care is committed to providing the best care possible for men and we are taking the risks and impact of prostate cancer seriously. We are guided by the independent scientific advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), and it is only where the offer to screen provides more good than harm that a screening programme is recommended. The UK NSC makes its recommendations based on internationally recognised criteria and a rigorous evidence review and consultation process. It last reviewed the evidence for screening all men for prostate cancer in 2020 and concluded that the UK should not do so.
Whilst it is recognised that the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test can be a valuable diagnostic tool in certain contexts, such as for men who present with symptoms, its limitations mean that it is not currently recommended for population-level screening, i.e. screening men with no symptoms.
This is because elevated PSA levels can be caused by non-cancerous conditions such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostatitis, or recent physical activity. This results in high rates of false-positive results, leading to unnecessary anxiety, invasive biopsies, and potential overtreatment. For example, a diagnosis via a biopsy and treatment (prostatectomy and radiotherapy) carries risks of life-changing harm, such as urinary and faecal incontinence, sexual dysfunction, as well as a smaller but serious risk of sepsis. Additionally, some prostate cancers may not produce elevated PSA levels, leading to false-negative results that provide deceptive reassurance. For these reasons, the UK NSC currently considers that these potential risks outweigh the benefits of population screening.
As part of its commitment to keep its recommendations under review, the UK NSC has commissioned a new evidence review for prostate cancer screening. This covers modelling of the clinical effectiveness and cost of several approaches to prostate cancer screening. It includes different potential ways of screening the whole population, and targeted screening aimed at groups of people identified as being at higher-than-average risk, such as black men or men with a family history of cancer.
The modelling and evidence reports are now complete, and are being considered by the UK NSC and experts. Subject to no further revisions being required, the UK NSC plans to hold a public consultation towards the end of 2025. After this the UK NSC will make a recommendation. Ministers will then be asked to consider whether to accept the recommendation.
In the meantime, however, recognising the importance of developing a better test, the Government have invested £16 million in working with Prostate Cancer UK (PCUK) to launch their £42 million TRANSFORM trial, a nationwide study that will compare the most promising tests to look for prostate cancer. It will be the biggest trial in prostate cancer screening for 20 years. It has been developed in consultation, and with the backing of, the NHS, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Government. It will ensure that 1 in 10 of the participants invited to take part in the trial is a black man, in acknowledgment of the higher risk black men have of being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The UK NSC are engaged and working closely with TRANSFORM researchers and stand ready to receive findings as they become available. PCUK anticipate initial findings will be available in three years.
The Government agree that too many men are dying from prostate cancer. Any death from cancer is a tragedy, which is why this Government will publish a National Cancer Plan later this year. The Plan will have patients at its heart, with the goal to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer. The Government have been listening to and co-designing the Plan with members of the public, the health workforce, charities, academics and other partners. The Call for Evidence received over 11,000 responses. Officials at the Department of Health and Social Care are analysing those responses, to make sure every voice has been heard, to inform our Plan to improve cancer care.
Department of Health and Social Care