A number of constituents have contacted me about the issue of Prostate Cancer Screening.
I recognise the concern that you and Prostate Cancer Research have raised about the current priority given to screening men at greater risk of prostate cancer. As you will know, during the last review of the PSA test in November 2020, the NSC did not recommend systematic population PSA screening in men over the age of 50 because the test is not accurate enough to detect prostate cancer that needs treatment. The NSC also found that the PSA test could also produce false negatives while missing other forms of cancer, meaning that men may have to undergo unnecessary tests or treatment.
While every man has the right to have a PSA test over the age of 50, based on evidence collected from the consultation and subsequent review, the NSC concluded that no routine PSA tests should be conducted amongst men of this age. I appreciate this may not be the response you were looking for, but I hope it goes some way to explaining the decisions made.
The NSC’s next review for Prostate Cancer was due to take place between 2023 and 2024, but no recent update has been made available on their website. I do note the piloting of artificial intelligence (AI) to help detect and diagnose prostate cancer at the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in North Wales. It is good news that this development will be able to increase the speed and accuracy of cancer sampling and provide earlier diagnosis.
