A UK-wide screening strategy is the only way to solve the “postcode lottery” problems in prostate cancer diagnosis, a charity has claimed.
He insists that the current system, whereby men over 50 can request a PSA test, means that many cases are detected too late.
Prostate Research UK believes improvements in testing, including better scans and safer biopsies, mean the benefits now outweigh the risks, such as false positives and overtreatment.
Today he will hand over a petition to Downing Street, with more than 135,000 signatures, calling on the Government to implement a national plan to detect the disease.
The charity’s Oliver Kemp said the failure to make this available to all men was costing lives.
Prostate Research UK believes improvements in testing, including better scans and safer biopsies, mean the benefits now outweigh the risks, such as false positives and overtreatment (file photo)
He said: ‘Early detection is our most powerful weapon against prostate cancer, but we are failing to roll out effective screening across the UK.
“The current approach is not only inefficient, but also unfair. We call on the UK National Screening Committee and the Government to harness recent technological advances to address this problem.”
The charity said there was a “national tragedy” meaning survival prospects for the most common cancer among men could depend on where they live.
The Daily Mail, which relaunched its End Needless Prostate Deaths campaign last year, revealed how men living in parts of the North East are almost six times more likely to be diagnosed after their cancer has spread than in the country’s best-performing trusts.
The Prostate Research UK analysis also found that patients in northern counties were significantly less likely to have access to cutting-edge diagnostics and treatments compared to those in the south.
This is despite research showing that treatment for men with advanced prostate cancer is often four times more expensive than when it is detected early, costing up to £55,652 a year, compared with £13,247 for men diagnosed before it has spread.
Professor Mike Kirby, from the British Association of Urological Surgeons, said: ‘Too often I have seen the impact of late-stage prostate cancer diagnoses.
“We need a more proactive approach to screening, especially for high-risk groups. While we need to be wary of overdiagnosis, changes in clinical practice have reduced the number of men being overtreated and provide clear guidelines that ensure more consistent care across the country.”
Prostate Research UK insists that the current system, whereby men over 50 can request a PSA test, means many cases are detected too late.
The call comes after the previous government launched the biggest screening initiative in 20 years. The £42m TRANSFORM trial will assess the effectiveness of diagnostic techniques, including MRI scans, compared with the current standard prostate-specific antigen blood test.
It is hoped this will lead to a national programme, but there are fears this could take years and thousands of men could die in the meantime.
The Mail has campaigned for more than two decades to improve prostate cancer outcomes.
A Department of Health spokesman said: ‘Too many cancer patients wait too long for treatment and we are determined to change that.
‘This includes finding the best way to detect prostate cancer, which is why we are investing £16 million in the TRANSFORM screening trial to find ways to detect prostate cancer in men as early as possible.’
Prostate cancer is responsible for 14 per cent of all cancer deaths in men and is the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the UK.
