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An NHS screening programme for prostate cancer could come one step closer if it’s backed today by a key committee that advises the government.
The National Screening Committee, comprised of doctors and economists, will reveal whether it now believes the benefits of screening outweigh any risks, and whether testing could be done at a reasonable cost to the NHS.
When it last looked at the evidence in 2020, it rejected calls for screening, even though prostate cancer kills 12,000 men a year.
But in recent months, there has been growing pressure for screening from high-profile public figures such as Olympian Sir Chris Hoy and former Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan.
Both have been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, yet the disease is curable if detected in its early stages.
Former prime minister David Cameron has also backed the campaign for screening this week after revealing he had been treated for the cancer.
The committee will decide whether new research has tipped the scales in favour of screening older men, or whether to target only those at higher risk, such as black men and those with a family history of the disease.
The case for…
Lithuania is currently the only country to screen all men aged 50-69 with a blood test for PSA, a protein released by prostate cells.
A low level is normal. But levels can rise steeply in men with cancer.
A recent study showed that regular PSA testing of men over 50 could reduce deaths by 13%.
That’s about the same survival benefit of breast screening.
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