Rishi Sunak is urging the Government not to shelve a national prostate cancer screening programme because any ‘delay will undoubtedly cost lives’.
Reports emerged last week that the UK National Screening Committee, which advises the Government, intends to dismiss proposals to offer men most at risk of prostate cancer routine NHS tests.
The tests pick up early signs of the deadly disease.
A source close to the committee has told The Mail on Sunday that evidence suggests a prostate cancer screening programme may not be cost-effective.
But in a rare intervention, Mr Sunak said: ‘The evidence is increasingly clear that a targeted screening programme is deliverable and would save lives.
‘Now is the time to implement a targeted screening programme for the most common cancer among British men.
‘Delay will undoubtedly cost lives.’
No final decision has been made and the committee is due to meet next month to discuss the proposals, the source said.
But in a rare intervention, Rish Sunak said: ‘The evidence is increasingly clear that a targeted screening programme is deliverable and would save lives’
The Daily Mail has been campaigning to end needless prostate cancer deaths
The Mail campaign calling for a national screening programme is also backed by Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Stephen Fry, who have been treated for prostate cancer.
Sir Stephen, who had surgery for aggressive prostate cancer in 2018, said any decision to abandon the plans would be a crushing blow and it was ‘time something changed’.
‘My prostate cancer diagnosis came totally out of the blue,’ he said.
‘It was aggressive, so I was very lucky to find it early enough to get it dealt with.
‘However, you can’t leave cancer, or your life, to luck.
‘We need a health system that gives men a fairer shot at a curable diagnosis,’ he added.
The charity Prostate Cancer UK described the news as a ‘deep disappointment’.
Chief executive Laura Kerby said: ‘If these reports are true, it will come as a blow to the tens of thousands of men, loved ones and families who have fought for a screening programme.’
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘This Government has been clear it would like to see screening in place, but the decision must be evidence-led.
‘We know that a safe and effective screening programme will save thousands of men’s lives.’
Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed form of cancer in England, with 58,000 cases identified last year, preliminary figures show.
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Rishi Sunak warns Government over U-turn on prostate screening which ‘will undoubtedly cost lives’