The UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) has ignited a storm of controversy and disappointment by rejecting calls for a widespread prostate cancer screening programme for all high-risk men. This decision has placed significant pressure on Health Secretary Wes Streeting to demonstrate leadership and potentially overrule the committee’s recommendation. Charities, patient advocacy groups, and Members of Parliament are strongly urging Streeting to defy the advice, warning that inaction will condemn thousands more men to avoidable deaths from prostate cancer, the most common cancer in the UK.

Prostate cancer tragically accounts for 63,000 cases and 12,000 deaths annually in the UK. However, unlike breast, bowel, and lung cancers, there is currently no national screening programme. The UKNSC, after reviewing the latest evidence, ruled out both widespread population screening and targeted checks for men known to be at higher risk, such as black men or those with a family history of the disease. Instead, the committee advised focusing exclusively on men with particular genetic mutations, specifically BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are found in only three out of every 1,000 men. For this very small cohort, the UKNSC recommends offering a PSA blood test every two years between the ages of 45 and 61, potentially making around 30,000 men eligible.

The committee’s rationale for excluding almost the entire male population from screening is based on the argument that the PSA test is not accurate enough for widespread use and could