Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the introduction of an organised prostate cancer screening programme on levels of PSA testing.

Through the introduction of England's first ever targeted prostate cancer screening programme, and through the major package of investment of over £20 million to expand research and improve treatment announced on 2 June 2026, the Government is taking an important step forward in tackling prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in England with approximately 10,000 men a year dying from this condition. Over 56,000 men a year are diagnosed with prostate cancer in England.

It is estimated that the cohort of men known to have a BRCA2 gene variant and a family history of breast, pancreatic, ovarian, or prostate cancer is currently approximately 1,500 men. These men are already entitled to annual prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests under UK Cancer Genetics Group guidance. They can continue to ask for a PSA test in the years that they are not called for screening. It is unclear how many men take up this annual offer, and we anticipate that a systematic call and recall system used for a screening programme will have higher engagement. However, it is not anticipated that the roll out of the targeted screening programme will have a significant increase in the number of PSA tests being offered.

While the publicity around the screening programme may have increased in the number of PSA tests being offered, the excellent awareness raising work of campaign groups such as Prostate Cancer UK has already contributed to an increase in PSA testing year on year and we anticipate this increase may continue.