· “To think that just by taking a couple of tests I could be helping to finally get to screening and save thousands of lives is incredible.” – Jaroslaw Galik, 55, from London, one of the first recruits to be tested in the biggest prostate cancer diagnosis trial in over 20 years
· Prostate cancer is now the most common cancer in the UK with cases rising 42% in a decade – yet remains the only major cancer without a mass screening programme
· The TRANSFORM trial will find the best tests to screen men and end the ‘postcode lottery’ of diagnosis
Monday 23rd March: Prostate Cancer UK today reveals the first men to have been tested as part of the landmark £42million TRANSFORM screening trial, funded and delivered by the charity in partnership with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
Men, including Jaroslaw Galik, from London attended the InHealth Community Diagnostic Centre in Ealing for a combination of PSA blood tests, fast MRI scans and/or genetic spit tests to find the safest and most effective way to detect prostate cancer before it becomes incurable. Early results from TRANSFORM could lead to screening in as little as two years – bringing an end to the ‘postcode lottery’ of late diagnosis and potentially saving thousands of lives each year.
Comprehensive screening is needed to tackle this issue and save thousands of lives each year. Latest data shows prostate cancer is now the most common cancer overall in the UK, with more than 63,000 men diagnosed and more than 12,000 dying each year – as cases continue to rise across the UK. But health inequalities, including a stark North-South divide, have created a postcode lottery that leaves too many men diagnosed too late, and too many others harmed by side effects of treating cancers that would never have caused them any harm.
TRANSFORM begins as the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) consults on its recent decision not to recommend screening for most men at risk based on current evidence. As well as improving the way we currently test, TRANSFORM will provide crucial new evidence which could help shift the balance in favour of screening in just two years.
Laura Kerby, Chief Executive at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “Men across the country are crying out for a screening programme, and we’re committed to building a future where every man gets that chance. That is why we have driven the development of TRANSFORM and funded the £42m programme, alongside the NIHR. We know that a safe and effective mass screening programme could save thousands of men’s lives, and it starts with these men walking through the door today and trialling these tests.
“They’re helping to build a future where prostate cancer is found early, consistently and fairly, and where no man’s diagnosis is left to chance.”
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Chief Executive Officer of the NIHR, said: “Welcoming the first men to this trial is a huge moment. This ambitious study demonstrates our commitment over the last two decades to driving life-changing research for the health and wealth of our society.
“TRANSFORM aims to tackle one of the biggest killers as part of the shift from sickness to prevention. Importantly, the trial will focus on men at highest risk, particularly Black men – a group who face double the risk of developing and dying from prostate cancer. The team is working closely with Black community leaders and organisations as part of our commitment to ensure meaningful participation in research among everyone in our society.”
Although only men who are invited can participate in the trial, Prostate Cancer UK is calling for donations to help fund vital research like TRANSFORM at: prostatecanceruk.org/donate
Prostate cancer is curable if found early. But without a screening programme, early diagnosis relies on men understanding their risk and speaking to their GP about a PSA blood test– usually without any symptoms. As a result, rates of early diagnosis vary widely across the UK, with men in more deprived areas 29% more likely to be diagnosed late compared to more affluent areas. Meanwhile, in Scotland nearly a third of men with prostate cancer (31%) are diagnosed with incurable stage 4 cancer, compared to just 21% in England.
Jaroslaw Galik, 55, from London, one of the first men to take part in TRANSFORM said: “I’d heard a bit about prostate cancer over the years and had always thought I should probably speak to my GP, but I never actually got round to doing anything about it. There isn’t that routine screening programme, so it just wasn’t something that felt urgent.
“When the letter about TRANSFORM came through, I realised this was a straightforward way to check my own risk while also contributing to something bigger. If taking part helps move us closer to having a proper screening programme in the future, so men are just invited by their GP like they are for other cancers that would make such a difference. To think that just by taking a couple of tests I could be helping to finally get to screening and save thousands of lives is incredible.”
Inequalities are even more pronounced for Black men, who are twice as likely to develop prostate cancer and twice as likely to die from it. Yet the UK NSC declared that because too few Black men have been recruited to previous trials, there is not enough evidence to recommend screening as it is not possible to be sure that screening would do more good than harm for these men.
To address this, the target is that one in ten men invited to take part in TRANSFORM will be Black, with the trial team working closely with Black community leaders and organisations to ensure meaningful participation.
Professor Hashim Ahmed, Chief Investigator of the TRANSFORM trial and Chair of Urology at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Professor of Urology at Imperial College London said: “The men tested today mark the start of the biggest prostate cancer screening trial in over two decades. The size and quality of TRANSFORM means the data we’re collecting now will help us make prostate cancer diagnosis far safer and more effective for all men at risk, and will inform lifesaving research for decades to come.
“By testing cutting edge techniques, including blood tests, genetics, and MRI scans, we can find the best way to screen men for the disease and save thousands of lives each year.”
In this first stage, the trial will test new techniques against the current NHS diagnostic pathway, before the most effective methods are tested in a much larger group of up to 300,000 men.
The first men joining the trial have been tested at the InHealth Community Diagnostic Centre in Ealing, with more centres opening soon across the UK. Men will be invited directly, so the trial mirrors how a future screening programme would operate.
At £42 million, TRANSFORM is the biggest single research commitment ever made by Prostate Cancer UK. The NIHR has committed £16m, with the remaining £26m to be funded by Prostate Cancer UK through its supporters and in particular the trial’s generous founding partners: Cockburn Shaw Legacy; Freddie Green and Family Charitable Foundation; Garfield Weston Foundation; Movember; Omaze; and Paddy Power.
Prostate Cancer UK is the biggest public funder of prostate cancer research in the UK, investing over £120 million since its inception and working to build a world where no man dies from the disease. In addition to this huge investment in research to deliver screening, the charity will continue to spend over £10m each year to fund research to drive improvements in how prostate cancer is treated and to discover innovative new ways to diagnose it.
Support groundbreaking research like TRANSFORM by donating to Prostate Cancer UK at https://prostatecanceruk.org/chance
ENDS
For more information, contact Laura Williams onlaura.williams@prostatecanceruk.org or 020 3310 7314 or the wider Media & PR team on pressoffice@prostatecanceruk.org or 020 3310 7050.
To find out about other prostate cancer trials that need volunteers, visit NIHR’s Be Part of Research website at: bepartofresearch.uk.
TRANSFORM trial research leads & institutes:
The six lead researchers for the trial represent four of the UK’s biggest research centres, working alongside 16 co-applicants from across the country. They are:
· Professor Hashim Ahmed, at Imperial College London
· Professor Ros Eeles, at the Institute of Cancer Research, London
· Professor Mark Emberton, at University College London
· Professor Rhian Gabe, at Queen Mary University of London
· Professor Rakesh Heer, at Imperial College London
· Professor Caroline Moore, at University College London
· Other collaborators are leading aspects of the trial at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of Lancashire, University of Manchester and University of Cambridge.
TRANSFORM trial Founding Partners
The TRANSFORM trial is being supported by seven Founding Partners, whose visionary support has made this landmark trial possible. They are:
· Cockburn Shaw Legacy
· Freddie Green and Family Charitable Foundation
· Garfield Weston Foundation
· Movember
· National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
· Omaze
About the NIHR
The mission of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research.
We do this by:
· funding high quality, timely research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care
· investing in world-class expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services
· partnering with patients, service users, carers and communities, improving the relevance, quality and impact of our research
· attracting, training and supporting the best researchers to tackle complex health and social care challenges
· collaborating with other public funders, charities and industry to help shape a cohesive and globally competitive research system
· funding applied global health research and training to meet the needs of the poorest people in low and middle income countries
NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care.
Our work in low and middle income countries is principally funded through UK international development funding from the UK government.
The Road to Screening
In the past, methods for diagnosing prostate cancer were unreliable and led to men having unnecessary and harmful tests and treatments. That’s why more accurate tests, kinder treatments, and awareness of risk are critical to achieving a national screening programme.
Prostate Cancer UK has led the way towards screening:
2009: Funded research that developed the role of MRI scanning before biopsy in diagnosing prostate cancer, leading to a 2017 study (PROMIS) that showed routine mpMRI would prevent men having unnecessary biopsies
2015: Led the study that showed Black men have double the risk of prostate cancer and of dying from the disease.
2017: Led the campaign that made mpMRI scans standard practice across the UK, and partnered with the Royal College of Radiologists to develop training in reading the scans.
2020: Launched the 30-second Risk Checker, enabling the first clinically-sound public health campaigns to improve early detection. In 2022 the NHS partnered with Prostate Cancer UK in a £1.9 million campaign using the Risk Checker to find men at risk of late-stage diagnosis due to the pandemic.
2022: Called on the UK National Screening Committee to review the latest evidence that mpMRI and new biopsy techniques have made diagnosis safer and more accurate – and support screening for men at highest risk.
2023: Launched TRANSFORM, a £42 million trial to find the best way to test men across the country and deliver the evidence to implement routine screening for all men.
2024: Convened leading experts to establish a new clinical consensus on PSA testing for men without symptoms, and launched a campaign to change outdated guidelines so GPs can proactively talk to high-risk men.
2025: Developed a study that found fear of a rectal exam is the single biggest barrier to men taking action, and partnered with the British Association of Urological Surgeons to call for anend to the use of the rectal exam in diagnosing prostate cancer.
2025: Successfully campaigned for NICE to update outdated Active Surveillance guidelines, potentiallyreducing overtreatment for 5,000 men a year.
The facts
· Prostate Cancer UK has funded more than £120 million in research – now £10-12 million annually as the biggest public funder of prostate cancer research in the UK.
· Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in the UK. 1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer, and if you’re Black, that risk is doubled.
· The earlier you find prostate cancer, the easier it is to treat. But early prostate cancer often doesn’t have symptoms. That’s why it’s important for men to know their risk and what they can do about it. You can check your risk online in just 30 seconds by visiting Prostate Cancer UK’s Risk Checker at: prostatecanceruk.org/risk
· The best first test for prostate cancer is a quick and simple PSA blood test, and if your PSA level is elevated, you may need an MRI scan. You do not need a rectal exam to check for prostate cancer.
· Your risk of prostate cancer increases if you’re over 50, if you’re Black, or if you have a family history of the disease. If you are at higher risk, you have the right to request a PSA blood test free from your GP.
· Each year in the UK, more than 63,000 men are diagnosed and more than 12,000 die of the disease.
Support from Prostate Cancer UK
While our research and campaigning builds hope for the future, we provide help right now for men and their families. Anyone can get information and support from Prostate Cancer UK:
· Contact our Specialist Nurses in confidence on 0800 074 8383, or via email, webchat or
· WhatsApp at prostatecanceruk.org/nurses
· Get online and printed health information at prostatecanceruk.org/information
· Speak to trained volunteers with experience of prostate cancer at prostatecanceruk.org/one-to-one
Most of our funding comes directly from men affected by prostate cancer and those connected to them. Anyone can support our work by donating or volunteering at prostatecanceruk.org.
About InHealth
InHealth is the UK’s largest specialist provider of screening and diagnostic solutions. Our mission is to make healthcare better and we do this by working with hospitals and commissioners across the NHS and independent sector.
With over 30 years’ experience, our flexible and dynamic approach is helping to meet some of health’s most pressing challenges – reducing waiting times, speeding up diagnoses, saving money and improving the overall patient experience.
Our ventures team is committed to investing in emerging technologies and services from across the world to improve patient outcomes. InHealth provide tests, scans and examinations for more than 5 million patients a year across the UK.
