Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to work with Prostate Cancer UK and research partners to close the evidence gaps identified by the UK National Screening Committee's prostate cancer screening review 2025, particularly in relation to (1) Black men, and (2) men with a family history of prostate cancer.

The Department invests over £1.7 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

The Government and Prostate Cancer UK (PCUK) have partnered together on the £42 million TRANSFORM screening trial to find the best way to screen men for prostate cancer to find it before it becomes advanced and harder to treat. PCUK is leading the development of the trial, with the Government contributing £16 million through the NIHR.

The TRANSFORM trial will aim to address some of the inequalities that exist in prostate cancer diagnosis. For example, one in four Black men will develop prostate cancer, double the risk of other men, and often at a younger age. The trial will ensure that at least 10% of the men who are invited to participate in the trial are Black.

Following my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s round table on prostate cancer screening in January 2026, Prostate Cancer UK agreed to carry out further work to look at the issue of defining ‘family history’. Conversations have also taken place with Cancer Research UK regarding the definition of family history.

The UK National Screening Committee has committed to assessing evidence as it becomes available throughout the trial rather than waiting right until the end for final data to be published. The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including prostate cancer.