"Our current opportunistic PSA [prostate-specific antigen] testing system is unstructured, inefficient and unfair a postcode lottery where some men succeed because they know to ask or can pay privately, while others are turned away despite repeated requests. Yet the data hide what cannot be modelled: eroded trust among communities who feel abandoned. Black men, already at higher risk, often believe the system fails them. Families bear devastating emotional and financial burdens from late-stage disease."
"We now have the tools to deliver screening safely and effectively, yet the system is frozen waiting for next-generation trial data. Waiting would entrench inequality and allow preventable deaths. Evidence is strong enough to act now. Perfection must not be the enemy of progress. The push comes a day after David Cameron disclosed he was treated for prostate cancer. He called for a targeted screening programme."
A cross-party group of more than 100 MPs has pressed the health secretary to introduce targeted prostate cancer screening for men at higher risk. The UK National Screening Committee will advise whether higher-risk men should be offered checks and is due to write to the health secretary. The MPs’ open letter criticises the current opportunistic PSA testing system as unstructured and unequal, noting eroded trust in affected communities and financial and emotional burdens from late-stage disease. The letter argues that tools exist to implement safe screening now and warns waiting will entrench inequality and cost lives. Former prime minister David Cameron has also called for targeted screening after disclosing treatment.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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