New prostate cancer therapy used by Jeremy Clarkson cuts side-effects risk

Published: 23:14, 16 July 2026 | Updated: 01:39, 17 July 2026 A cutting-edge prostate cancer therapy is as effective as surgery but with a fifth of the risk of side-effects, a landmark study reveals. Former prime minister David Cameron and TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson are among men to have been treated with focal therapy, which targets tumours with pinpoint precision. A lack of prior evidence means access is currently extremely limited on the NHS, with only a few specialist centres offering the treatment. The majority are in London and the south-east of England, with not a single centre in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. This means that without health insurance, men in most of the country must pay £15,000 for each round of treatment or face a higher risk of incontinence and sexual dysfunction. Prostate Cancer UK is now urging health watchdog NICE to end the 'postcode lottery' by urgently reviewing the latest findings and approving focal therapy for widespread NHS use. The study by Imperial College London followed 3,477 men who had received focal therapy using a heat-based treatment known as high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) or a freezing-based treatment known as cryotherapy. This minimises damage to healthy prostate tissue and those nerves and muscles next to the prostate which control urinary and sexual function. Jeremy Clarkson revealed his prostate cancer diagnosis in the latest season of Clarkson's Farm Clarkson is among the men who have been treated with focal therapy, which targets tumours with pinpoint precision Ten years after receiving focal therapy as part of the study, only two men (0.13 per cent) died from prostate cancer and 3.3 per cent developed metastasis, meaning their cancer had spread. This suggests men who received focal therapy were no more likely to die or experience cancer spread than those treated with surgery or radiotherapy. However, researchers found focal therapy led to a five-fold lower risk of side effects such as incontinence, erectile dysfunction and rectal problems compared to traditional radiotherapy or surgery. Lord Cameron said: 'I was fortunate to be able to benefit from a more advanced focal therapy to treat my cancer that reduced the risk of life-changing side effects. 'Right now, many men don't have that option, and that's not right. 'We should be doing everything we can to ensure that men across the UK – wherever they live, and whatever their means – can benefit from the latest advances. 'I hope this new evidence helps speed up wider access, so more men can benefit from the focused treatments that I received.' David Cameron revealed her had prostate cancer in November 2025. Lord Cameron said: 'I was fortunate to be able to benefit from a more advanced focal therapy to treat my cancer that reduced the risk of life-changing side effects' Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, with more than 60,000 diagnosed each year in the UK alone. Many are confined to the prostate, and these men are offered either robotic surgery to remove the prostate or radiotherapy delivered to the whole prostate. Both are effective treatments but can cause long-lasting side effects, such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. These harms are one reason why the UK National Screening Committee recently advised against screening all men for prostate cancer. Around half to two-thirds of these localised cancers are suitable for focal therapy, which is equal to around 15,000 men per year in the UK. However, only around 1,000 currently receive it. Amy Rylance, director of health services, equity and improvement at Prostate Cancer UK, said: 'This is truly fantastic news for men. 'Side effects like incontinence or sexual problems can be devastating, and this is the first long-term study that shows many men could avoid them without increasing the risk their cancer could return. 'And it's not just important for individual men. 'These serious side effects are a major reason we don't yet screen for prostate cancer and reducing them makes it far more likely we can get to a screening programme for all men sooner. 'But without NICE approval, the sad truth is that thousands of men will have to deal with life-changing side effects simply because of their postcode. 'That's completely unacceptable, which is why we're calling for an urgent review of these treatments.' Professor Hashim Ahmed, chair of urology at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Professor of Urology at Imperial College London, said: 'I'm delighted that the data finally backs up what we've suspected for some time – that focal therapies like HIFU and cryotherapy are comparable to whole-gland treatments in terms of cancer control, but with a fraction of the side effects. 'We've been working so hard to generate this real-world evidence so that focal therapies finally have the chance to be approved by NICE and to give men the confidence that they are choosing a treatment that is both targeted and effective.' The Daily Mail has long campaigned for improved prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment to end needless deaths from the disease.