Prostate checks: Streeting expresses support after charity meeting.

Wes Streeting said he wants to introduce prostate cancer screening on the NHS after meeting charities and experts; the UK National Screening Committee will issue its final recommendation in March.

Wes Streeting has said he wants to introduce prostate cancer screening on the NHS after a roundtable meeting with charities and clinical experts in London. The event included the chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, and aimed to gather a range of views on screening. The discussion follows a draft recommendation from the UK National Screening Committee in November that routine PSA screening should not be offered to the majority of men. Mr Streeting can overrule the committee and the UKNSC will issue its final recommendation in March. What we know: - Mr Streeting thanked clinicians, researchers and charities for a "frank conversation" and said he is "determined to improve outcomes for men with prostate cancer." - The UKNSC's draft guidance said population screening using the PSA blood test is "likely to cause more harm than good," citing risks such as unnecessary biopsies or surgery. - The UKNSC has proposed screening every two years for men aged 45–61 with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, a higher-risk group. - Charities including Prostate Cancer Research and Prostate Cancer UK criticised the draft decision, arguing that earlier harms have been reduced and that the modelling behind the guidance was incomplete. - Reporting cites around 63,000 prostate cancer cases and 12,000 deaths annually in the UK. - The article notes studies that report prostate screening reduces the risk of dying from the disease by about 13%, with one death prevented for every 456 men checked, a figure compared with breast and bowel screening programmes. Summary: The meeting brought ministerial figures together with charity and clinical representatives ahead of the UKNSC's final recommendation in March. Mr Streeting has said he will weigh the evidence and has convened a group of experts to review differing views; the decision on routine prostate screening in the NHS is undetermined at this time.