One of our Trustees, Professor Stephen Langley, Clinical Director of Urology at the Royal Surrey Hospital and co-chairman in urology of the Surrey & Sussex Cancer Alliance attended the recent European Urology Conference in Madrid to give a presentation on Targeted Prostate Cancer Health Checks programme.
Thousands of healthcare professionals attend EAU 25 to present and learn about the latest research. EAU25 offers urologists an update on all the very latest developments in the field. There are 4 days of engaging activities such as live surgeries, state-of-the-art lectures, and patient discussions, plus educational courses and hands-on training courtesy of the European School of Urology.
Prof Langley presentation was on the pilot he ran with the Surrey and Sussex Cancer Alliance and Medefer, an NHS-partnered healthcare organisation. The Targeted Prostate Health Check programme is a novel case-finding initiative that invited over 66,000 at-risk men for simple urine and PSA blood tests. The project not only identified previously undetected cancers, but also significantly increased testing awareness among participants.
In line with Medefer’s mission to transform access to outpatient care, the programme also cut PSA blood test result turnaround times from the usual 1–2 weeks to an average of just 1.25 days, helping patients get faster answers and earlier referrals.
Prof Langley also gave an interview “Prostate tests on men without symptoms could save thousands” to the Daily Mail. He said:
‘I am very hopeful that the results, which show targeted screening is effective, will add to the case for a nationwide programme aimed at men whose age or family history puts them at higher risk of the disease’.
You can read the article – click here.
The UK National Screening Committee, which advises the government on which screening programmes to offer, is currently reviewing evidence into the benefits of prostate cancer screening for high-risk men and is due to make a recommendation later this year.
MPs from across Parliament have joined the likes of broadcaster Sir Stephen Fry, chef Ken Hom, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting are backing the Daily Mail’s call for the National Screening Committee to recommend the roll-out of a targeted screening programme on the NHS.
