Prostate cancer screening: Final guidance recommends against testing all men 28.05.2026

The UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) has issued final guidance recommending against a population-wide prostate cancer screening program, stating that the widely used prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test is likely to cause more harm than good. The committee now advises screening only for men with a BRCA2 genetic mutation who also have a family history of certain cancers, recommending testing every two years between ages 45 and 61. This revised recommendation excludes men with BRCA1 mutations, unlike the initial draft, and also advises against screening for other at-risk groups, such as black men, due to ongoing uncertainty about the balance of benefits and harms. The primary harms identified include incontinence and erectile dysfunction in men who might not require treatment. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, with over 64,000 diagnoses annually.













