Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has urged the incoming political leadership to revisit the decision to reject a nationwide prostate cancer screening program, asserting that a targeted approach for high-risk individuals could save lives.
Sunak stated that a new prime minister and health secretary should prompt the UK National Screening Committee to re-examine the proposal, taking into account recent advancements in treatment, modeling, and emerging evidence. "I firmly believe that a targeted screening programme will save lives, and we should just take this step for men's health," Sunak commented.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, with approximately 63,000 cases and 12,000 deaths annually. Unlike breast, bowel, and lung cancers, there is currently no national screening program for prostate cancer. The Daily Mail has been campaigning for such a program, initially focused on men at higher risk, including those who are Black, have a family history of the disease, or possess specific genetic mutations.
Recent recommendations from the UK National Screening Committee advised against a broad rollout, limiting initial screening to a smaller group of men aged 45 to 61 who have a rare gene mutation and a family history of certain cancers. The committee cited concerns that the PSA blood test, used to detect prostate cancer risk, is not sufficiently accurate for widespread use and that false positives could lead to unnecessary risks of impotence and incontinence through over-treatment.
However, advocates argue that the committee's concerns may be based on outdated information, with modern practices less likely to result in aggressive interventions for slow-progressing cancers. Prostate cancer charities have pushed for a re-evaluation of the evidence.
Sunak, now an ambassador for the charity Prostate Cancer Research, indicated his intention to raise the issue with the next prime minister and health secretary. He stressed that support for screening extends across political parties and includes cancer survivors, affected families, and medical professionals. "I've spent time myself going through the evidence, the numbers, talking to survivors, talking to families that have been affected. I know how meaningful this is to people up and down the country," he said.
Sunak also suggested the screening committee should maintain a "living model" to incorporate new evidence promptly, rather than waiting for lengthy review periods. He believes ongoing studies could further strengthen the case for targeted screening.
The intervention by Sunak comes as Andy Burnham, a newly elected MP, is positioned to potentially replace outgoing Prime Minister and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer in the near future. Sunak declined to comment directly on the composition of the screening committee, choosing instead to focus on the substance of its decision and the opportunity for a fresh review under new leadership.