07 January 2025 – A new All-Party Parliamentary Group on Prostate Cancer was officially launched in Westminster on Tuesday 17 December 2024 — an urgent and timely move as the country enters a key moment for the future of how the disease is diagnosed and treated.

The latest NHS data has made clear that cancer diagnoses in the UK have reached a new record high level, driven mainly by an increase in prostate cancers which rose by more than a quarter to 54,732 in 2022. These figures come at a time when the National Screening Committee is considering various proposals for prostate cancer screening, and the UK’s largest prostate cancer screening trial in 20 years, TRANSFORM, will begin recruiting participants this year. 

Calvin Bailey MBE MP addressed attendees at the meeting highlighting the step forward the APPG represents as for the first time parliamentarians have come together to focus on this issue in Westminster on a sustained basis. By working together the group’s aims are to provide a forum for MPs and peers to discuss issues impacting people with prostate cancer, and to advocate for improvements in policy on health inequalities, early diagnosis, treatment, care and survival for people with prostate cancer. 

Mr Bailey said: “I’m pleased to support this new group in Parliament, and join Prostate Cancer Research and Prostate Cancer UK in working together to bring greater attention to the issues men are facing around prostate cancer. 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, which rises to 1 in 4 for Black men. Our new APPG will provide a highly impactful, cross-party forum to support Parliamentary work towards equitable early diagnosis, treatment, care and survival.”

David James, Director of Patient Projects and Influencing at Prostate Cancer Research, said: “The formation of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Prostate Cancer is a crucial step towards improving early detection and care. With 2025 poised to be a defining year for screening, this APPG will push the UK National Screening Committee and the government to act on much-needed reforms. We’re proud to partner with Prostate Cancer UK and work alongside committed Parliamentarians to drive this vital initiative forward.”

Amy Rylance, Assistant Director of Health Improvement at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “How we diagnose, treat and care for men affected by prostate cancer is at a critical stage in the UK. Primary care guidelines are out of date and require changing to reflect the most recent evidence, unacceptable inequalities persist for Black men who are twice as likely to be diagnosed in their life-time and also twice as likely to die from the disease. These problems demand the full attention of the UK’s health care leaders. Through the APPG we can help make that happen.”