Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre's report entitled National Prostate Cancer Audit State of the Nation Report 2025, published in October 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the geographical variation in men being (a) over-treated and (b) under-treated for prostate cancer; and what steps he is taking to address these issues.

The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing prostate cancer earlier, and treating it faster, so that more patients survive.

The National Cancer audits are an essential tool in understanding variation in access to treatment across England and Wales. The NHS Cancer Programme’s workstream on treatment variation takes the recommendations from the ten cancer-focused audits and works with Cancer Alliances and the audit teams each year to assess and prioritise recommendations for focused action each year. Cancer Alliances work closely with their local specialty networks to identify and address opportunities to improve across their local areas. This includes taking action to address variation in over-treatment and under-treatment across the country.

Reducing inequalities and geographical variation in cancer care is a top priority for the Government. The National Cancer Plan, due for publication early next year, will set out further details on how we will improve outcomes for prostate cancer patients in all part of England.