Cancer screening test rejection 'leaves thousands at risk of early death'

Cancer screening test rejection 'leaves thousands at risk of early death'The measure that proponents say could say many lives has been rejected by the Government Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source Comments By Sophie Warburton 10:02, Fri, May 29, 2026 Updated: 10:03, Fri, May 29, 2026 Supporters have criticised the verdict (Image: Getty)A major prostate cancer screening test that proponents suggest could save thousands from an early death has been rejected by the Government. Final advice published today for England by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) slashed eligibility numbers by 27,000, claiming the test “is more likely to cause more harm than good in the whole population”. In November, the UK NSC said screening should only be offered to around 30,000 men aged 45 to 61 with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations, which increase the risk of aggressive disease. window.scriptsToLoad.push({url:'https://live.primis.tech/live/liveView.php?s=118222&vp_content=plembed3a6btjknzwqh&cbuster=%%CACHEBUSTER%%&playerApiId=v118222',triggeredBy:'tcfLoaded',delay:1500,containerId:'ovp-primis',title:"Primis player",beforeLoad:()=>{window.top.addEventListener('primisPlayerInit',e=>{try{if(e.detail&&e.detail.playerApiId==="v118222"){if(window.document.getElementsByClassName('jwplayer')[0]){e.detail.float('disable')}}}catch(e){}})},}) But now, only men aged 45 to 61, who have specific BRCA2 variants, combined with a family history of breast, ovarian, pancreatic, or prostate cancer, are eligible. As few as 3,000 men will be invited for screening, which will involve taking a blood test every two years to check for a marker of potential prostate cancer known as PSA. The committee added that expanding screening to a wider group could lead to overdiagnosis and over-treatment, exposing some men to a risk of impotence and incontinence when their tumour was unlikely to cause them issues in their...