Targeted checks for men at high risk of prostate cancer would cost just £18 per patient and could save thousands of lives, analysis suggests. Campaigners who are calling for the launch of a screening programme say the tests would cost £4 less per eligible patient than breast cancer screening, which is offered to women aged 50 to 70.
A report from Prostate Cancer Research argues that screening 1.3 million high-risk men would cost the country just £25 million per year. Every £20,000 spent could lead to one extra year of life for a patient, it is estimated.
Those viewed as high risk are men aged 45 to 69 who are black or have a family history of the disease.
Oliver Kemp, chief executive of Prostate Cancer Research, said, “We hope the screening committee will notice the significant findings in this report.
“It shows that a national screening programme — targeting men at highest risk — is affordable, deliverable and will save lives.
“We cannot sit still while more than 12,000 fathers, husbands, and sons are lost every year.”
Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is among those backing calls for a screening programme. He told the Telegraph: “This report makes clear that a targeted screening programme for prostate cancer is deliverable and would save lives.
Those viewed as high risk are men aged 45 to 69 who are black or have a family history of the disease.
Oliver Kemp, chief executive of Prostate Cancer Research, said: “We hope the screening committee will take notice of the significant findings in this report.
“It shows that a national screening programme — targeting men at highest risk — is affordable, deliverable and will save lives.
“We cannot sit still while more than 12,000 fathers, husbands, and sons are lost every year.”
Around 55,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in the UK.
Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is among those backing calls for a screening programme. He told the Telegraph: “This report makes clear that a targeted screening programme for prostate cancer is deliverable and would save lives.
