Men would come forward for prostate cancer screening.
New Healthwatch research shows the majority of men would come forward for testing if invited as part of any future national prostate screening programme.
Healthwatch are now urging policymakers to consider men’s views, alongside clinical and economic evidence, when reaching a decision on whether (and how) to introduce a national screening programme.
The current NHS approach
There is no national prostate screening programme to routinely invite men for testing, like there is for bowel, breast and other major cancers.
The Department of Health and Social Care didn’t ask men for their views on screening in their call for evidence on men’s health strategy, so Healthwatch sought to plug this evidence gap. Our poll, of more than 3,500 men aged 18+ in England, is believed to be the first to ask men if they would take part in any future programme.
Would men attend the screening?
Contrary to evidence that men are reluctant to attend other services across the health and care system, Healthwatch findings show:
- 79% of all men said they would be likely to attend an appointment when invited, if the NHS introduced prostate screening routinely.
- This rises to 81% for Black men – an important finding for health inequalities, given their increased risk.
Likelihood increases with age
- 89% of men aged 65-74 in our poll said they’d be likely to attend.
- This decreased to 65% of men aged 18-24.
Reasons for reluctance
The Healthwatch poll found 7% of men said they would be unlikely to take part in any future screening programme, and Healthwatch asked them to select reasons why and found:
- 25% of this group of men generally don’t like medical appointments
- 22% would prefer to wait until they had any symptoms (Showing a need for greater awareness, as prostate cancer often has no symptoms until later stages.)
- 21% don’t think they’re at risk of prostate cancer.
Why all men aren’t routinely tested
There has been no national screening programme for prostate cancer because the initial diagnostic tool – the Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test - is regarded as clinically unreliable. It sometimes shows ‘false positives’ and puts men through unnecessary anxiety and biopsies. It can also lead to detection of early and slow growing cancers - the treatment for which can cause side effects such as incontinence or erectile dysfunction, which are often more harmful than leaving the cancer alone.
However, campaigners told an MPs’ inquiry last year that a targeted national screening programme, perhaps with more advanced technology, was necessary.
Healthwatch three key calls for the men’s health strategy:
1.Policymakers should consider men’s views, alongside clinical and economic evidence, when reaching a decision on introducing a national prostate cancer screening programme. While the scope of a future screening programme should be left to clinical judgement, we present evidence that men – particularly higher risk Black men – would take up a screening invitation. This evidence should be considered as a decision is reached on screening over the coming months.
2. Ensure there is clear, consistent national guidance for the public and GPs on asymptomatic testing. This should make clear whether:
- men over 50 are entitled to get an appointment to discuss the pros and cons of the PSA test
- the ultimate decision to get a PSA test is the clinician’s or the patient’s
- patients can take any other action if they are refused a PSA test but they still want one.
3. Increase men's awareness of prostate cancer symptoms, and risk factors for the disease, and the importance of seeking help as soon as possible
