NHS invites 500,000 men to join landmark prostate cancer research programme

Around 500,000 men across the UK are being invited to take part in one of the world’s largest prostate cancer screening studies, as researchers seek to identify the most effective way to detect the disease at an earlier stage.

The TRANSFORM trial is designed to determine the best approach to prostate cancer screening by comparing different testing methods, including prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests and MRI scans. The study aims to generate the evidence needed to inform future national screening policy.

Led by researchers from the University College London and supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and Prostate Cancer UK, the trial plans to recruit up to 500,000 men aged 45 to 75 from across the UK over the coming years. Participants will help researchers evaluate which screening strategies detect clinically significant prostate cancer most effectively while reducing unnecessary diagnosis and treatment.

The programme has recently been expanded through more than £20 million of government funding, allowing greater participation by men at higher risk of the disease. Subject to the successful completion of the trial’s first stage, all eligible Black men aged 45 to 74 who have not had a PSA test or prostate MRI within the previous five years will be invited to participate in the next phase of the study. Black men are around twice as likely to die from prostate cancer compared with white men.

The expansion follows the UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation not to introduce population-wide prostate cancer screening at this stage because further evidence is needed on the balance of benefits and harms. Instead, ministers have backed the continued expansion of the TRANSFORM trial to build the evidence required for future screening decisions.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. Researchers hope the findings from TRANSFORM will help establish whether a national screening programme can improve early diagnosis while minimising unnecessary investigations and treatment.

Stay informed with the stories shaping health and social care.

Register with The Daily Round for the latest sector news, inspections & reports, wellbeing content, workforce insights, expert features and practical updates—delivered free to your inbox.