Screening for deadly cancer could be ready in just five years

Screening for deadly cancer could be ready in just five years, according to experts.

Each year around 12,000 people in the UK die from prostate cancer which is one of the most common cancers. Prostate cancer screening could hopefully be available soon though. A staggering 50,000 people are diagnosed with this type of cancer each year.

At the moment there is no screening programme for prostate cancer and the NHS is unsure if currently, the risks offset the benefits.

The Institute of Cancer Research’s Professor Ros Eeles revealed that routine screening could be available soon as improvements are made in genetics and medical imaging.

Speaking to the BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, the expert explained: “With the advances in genetics and also imaging, particularly MRI, realistically we do need some more data, but we’re probably looking at getting close to a tailored screening programme in the next three to five years.”

“We might need to use all of them together… so we can find those who have significant disease.”

Not everyone diagnosed with prostate cancer needs immediate treatment. Some people decide to wait for treatment until it can no longer be delayed.

Current NHS guidance says: “Although screening has been shown to reduce a man’s chance of dying from prostate cancer, it would mean many men receive treatment unnecessarily.”

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