Prostate cancer patients ignored five times before diagnosis
New data show almost 10,000 men a year are being diagnosed with the disease only after at least three visits to their GP.
They include thousands of men who were referred for the right tests only after they turned to their family doctor at least five times.
Today, The Telegraph is launching a campaign calling for the introduction of targeted screening for prostate cancer.
It is also encouraging men to check if they are at risk of the disease.
Currently, men are not offered tests, even if they have a family history of the disease.
Experts believe there is a growing case for targeted screening, meaning that PSA blood tests would be offered to those at heightened risk of the disease.
The UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) is currently considering whether to recommend the rollout of such testing.
Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men, with 55,000 diagnoses and 12,000 deaths annually. When the disease is caught early, it significantly increases the chances of successful treatment and long-term survival.
Yet there is no screening programme, despite improvements in back-up diagnostic methods to support blood tests. It is the last major cancer without a screening programme.
Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, praised The Telegraph's campaign.
He said: 'I applaud The Telegraph and its readers for their long history of campaigning for better cancer care.
' As a cancer survivor who owes his life to the NHS I know all too well how important screening is and I would like to see a screening programme in place but it must be evidence-led.
'The UK National Screening Committee is looking at this as a priority – including reviewing the evidence for screening men with a family history of prostate cancer.
'While we wait for the evidence as to whether a screening programme would be safe, accurate and reliable, we are getting on with improving cancer treatment and prevention, as well as funding tens of millions of pounds of research and cutting waiting lists through our Plan for Change.'
While there is no prostate cancer screening programme, there is a national breast screening programme for women, with mammograms offered every five years to those between the age of 50 and 70.
The NHS data shows that men with prostate cancer fare far worse than women with breast cancer, in securing access to diagnostic tests and prompt treatment.
The figures show 18.7 per cent of men with prostate cancer only received a diagnosis after least three visits to their GP. This amounts to 9,724 annually.
For women with breast cancer the figure is 7.4 per cent, according to data from the NHS National Cancer Patient Experience Survey. For 5.2 per cent of men with prostate cancer, it took at least five visits, against 2.5 per cent of women with breast disease.
The plight of men with prostate cancer has been highlighted by Sir Chris Hoy, a six-time Olympic cycling gold medallist, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer that originated in his prostate in 2023.
Despite a family history of prostate cancer – which affected both his father and grandfather – he was never offered PSA tests.
Mr Streeting has said that Sir Chris 'makes a powerful argument' about the case for prostate screening, especially where there is a family history of disease.
Commenting on the data uncovered by The Telegraph, Oliver Kemp, the chief executive of Prostate Cancer Research, said: 'While these findings are alarming, sadly they confirm what patients have been telling us for years: too many men are slipping through the cracks, with their concerns dismissed time and time again.
'Prostate cancer is being caught far too late because we don't have a system designed to find it early. That's why it remains the second-biggest cancer killer of men in the UK. We urgently need a targeted screening programme to find those at risk early – when they have the best possible chance of survival.'
Chiara De Biase, director of health services, equity and improvement at Prostate Cancer UK, said men with prostate cancer were subject to 'life-threatening inequalities'.
She added: 'Those who've weighed up the pros and cons of PSA testing and made an informed choice to request a test are still being refused. And if you're black, working class, or even live in the North of the UK, you're more likely to get an incurable diagnosis. This is unacceptable and it's getting worse.'
She said the situation was worsened by outdated NHS guidelines that tell GPs not to raise the issue of prostate cancer or PSA testing with patients, and rely instead on men to come forward.
Ms De Biase added: 'Prostate cancer is the last major cancer without a screening programme. We submitted evidence more than two years ago backing the case for screening the highest-risk men, and we look forward to working with the UKNSC on their decision later this year.'
The charity is encouraging all men to use their risk checker to assess their chance of prostate cancer, by going to: https://prostatecanceruk.org/risk-checker/telegraph.
Prof Kamila Hawthorne, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said: 'GPs want the best for their patients and while they are referring more patients to receive a timely cancer diagnosis in secondary care by making appropriate referrals, this can be incredibly challenging as early symptoms may often be vague or indicative of more common and less serious conditions – and some, such as prostate cancer, may not display symptoms until they are already at quite a late stage.
'Cancer screening programmes have potentially saved millions of lives, but screening does not come without risk, including the potential for overdiagnosis and harm to patients as a result, so it's vital that any screening programme is evidence-based and reliable.'
Prof Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer, said: 'The NHS is diagnosing more men with prostate cancer at an early stage than ever before – providing the best chance of success from treatment.
'Prostate cancer symptoms can be hard to distinguish from less serious causes, meaning it can take extra visits to the GP to rule these out, and we would encourage men to continue to come forward if they have any concerns about their health.'
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