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 recent trends in levels of prostate cancer diagnoses; and what steps he plans to take to support (a) equitable access and (b) high-quality treatment strategies for people with prostate cancer.

The Department is committed to improving the adequacy of all cancer services, including for prostate cancer. NHS England has funded 10 clinical audits, which includes a national prostate cancer audit. Using routine data, collected on patients diagnosed with cancer in a National Health Service setting, the audit is looking at what is being done well, where it’s being done well, and what needs to be done better. This will seek to reduce unwarranted variation in treatment and reduce inequalities across different groups. To address disparities and find ways to better detect prostate cancer earlier, we have invested £16 million in the United Kingdom-wide TRANSFORM trial, aimed at helping find the best ways of detecting prostate cancer in men, even if they are not displaying any symptoms.

The Government recognises that a cancer-specific approach is needed to meet the challenges in cancer care, and to improve all cancer services and outcomes for people living with cancer, including those with prostate cancer. Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a new National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve cancer services across England.