Reducing variation and inequalities in prostate cancer care – how industry can help the NHS achieve its goals

This article has been initiated and funded by Bayer Plc who are fully responsible for the content, and has been written by PoliticsHome. The article will be reviewed in October 2026.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK.¹ The growing demand for treatment has raised critical questions about the future of cancer care. How can a struggling NHS keep up? How can we improve the diagnostic and treatment pathway? And how do we ensure that all patients – not just a few – receive the best care?

Following the publication of a new report, ‘Reducing variation in prostate cancer care’, medical professionals, patient organisation representatives, health system experts and stakeholders from the pharmaceutical sectors came together for a panel discussion addressing the backlog in prostate cancer pathways and reducing disparities in care. The discussion took place at the recent Cancer Care Conference in London, hosted by Public Policy Projects.

A collaborative approach to prostate cancer care

The key takeaway from the discussion was that neither the government nor the third sector can improve prostate cancer care alone. Dr Simon Wyatt, Senior Medical Adviser at Bayer, underscored the importance of collaboration with industry to improve prostate cancer care. He told attendees that industry has the “on-the-ground experience, insights and data that can help reform the pathways and tackle the backlog.”

An area of focus for Bayer has been reducing disparities in access to treatment. Data from Prostate Cancer UK (PCUK) has revealed a disparity in outcomes in prostate cancer, with the percentage of men in Scotland diagnosed in the late stage of the disease (35 per cent) being more than double that of both London (12.5 per cent) and the South East (14.7 per cent).²

The new report, which was sponsored by PCUK and Bayer, highlighted these findings and proposed potential solutions for central government, the NHS, and cancer alliances.

Key insights and recommendations from the report include:

• The lack of awareness of the risks of prostate cancer or that tests can be requested from a GP is contributing to many men presenting with late-stage prostate cancer. This is particularly pronounced in areas of high deprivation.
• The current guidance does not advise GPs to proactively engage men, even those at highest risk. This guidance needs review.
• Bolder, large-scale public awareness campaigns promoting informed decision-making about the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test must be implemented to reach men at risk from prostate cancer.
• These campaigns should be co-produced with communities to ensure they are more likely to gain traction and should target at-risk groups, including those living in areas of deprivation and Black men.

In addition to the solutions proposed in this report, Bayer has been working with the clinical community and patient organisation representatives on a set of policy recommendations aimed at mitigating health inequalities in prostate cancer care specifically. These ‘vision statements’ focus on removing barriers to diagnosis, empowering men to better understand and manage prostate cancer, and improving access to treatment. Bayer will be finalising its findings – building on the recent panel and report – and launch these in Parliament in the coming months.

Perspectives from the wider panel

Joseph Woollcott, Head of Health Policy at PCUK, highlighted the “huge” advancements in prostate cancer treatment, noting that survival rates beyond 10 years have risen from 25 per cent in the 1970s to over 80 per cent in the 2010s.³ However, he warned that this success “comes at a cost,” as the NHS struggles to keep pace with rising demand. With more men living longer and being diagnosed, the health service faces growing strain.

Woollcott referenced the 2017 PROMIS trial, which introduced MRI into the diagnostic pathway, leading to a "rapid reduction in overdiagnosis and harm".⁴ But he cautioned that the UK’s limited MRI capacity – just 6.1 systems per million people, far fewer than in the US or Germany⁵ – poses significant challenges. He urged the need for innovative models to streamline pathways and relieve pressure on resources.

Providing a clinical perspective to the discussion, consultant urologist Jonathan Aning echoed comments made by Woollcott, highlighting the “finite capacity” of MRI scanners and the need to be “as slick as possible” throughout the diagnostic pathway. He noted, for example, that a lot of people over the age of 80 are receiving PSA tests, which “doesn’t need to happen.”

While there is a “place for innovation” – including artificial intelligence and genetics – Aning told attendees that “if we did simple things well,” we would make “pretty major gains.” He called for “computer systems that work” and the “time and space” to manage the diagnostic pathway. “If we don’t get the basics right,” he concluded, “it’s difficult to move forward.”

Roshani Perera, Chair of the Board of Trustees at Tackle Prostate Cancer, shifted the focus to patient experience, telling attendees that being diagnosed with cancer is “probably one of the most vulnerable moments in a person’s life.” For those with prostate cancer, this is compounded yet further by the “lack of a national screening programme” and the “inequities we know exist in access to care and treatment.”

Perera noted that many newly diagnosed men “struggle to find clear information about what comes next in their cancer journey.” The diagnostic pathway alone, she said, is a “complex minefield.” Perera said that six out of 10 men do not engage in shared decision-making with their doctors⁶ and emphasised the value of peer support groups. These groups can enhance health literacy and “empower men to take control over their own care,” particularly those with limited financial and social resources.

Turning again to the increasing demand for cancer treatment, Vikash Dodhia – Head of Pharmacy at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre – said that the demand for systemic anti-cancer treatment is “growing by 6 to 8 per cent year on year”.⁷ Such a dramatic increase means that in five years “you will need 50 per cent more space in all of the hospitals to accommodate all of the patients” who need treatment. “Quite simply,” he said, “we don’t have the space or the workforce.”

Noting that we will “have to make do with what [we’ve] got,” Dodhia stressed the importance of using other areas of the workforce, and “non-medical prescribers” in particular. From 2026, every pharmacist will graduate from university with a non-medical prescribing certificate, and Dodhia stressed the urgency to “tap into that workforce.” By enabling non-medical prescribers to manage prostate cancer patients who are at lower risk, Dodhia said oncologists would have more time for high-risk patients with a greater need for treatment. He ended his contribution with a plea to “use the workforce that you have in an efficient and clever way.”

Towards quality care for all

While progress has been made on prostate cancer care, significant disparities in access remain. With increasing demand and an NHS under pressure, collaboration between industry, the health service and patient organisations will be crucial. 

The NHS 10-year plan announced by the new government provides an opportunity for significant reform to our health service, including reforms covering prostate cancer care and patient outcomes. Within the ten-year plan, a focus on policy solutions to reduce variation in prostate cancer care will be vital.

To read ‘Reducing variation in prostate cancer care’ in full, please click here.

Job bag number: PP-PF-ONC-GB-0440

Date of preparation: October 2024

Images source and credit: Total Politics

1. The Lancet (2024). The Lancet Commission on prostate cancer: planning for the surge in cases. Accessed 08.10.24.

2. PCUK (January 2023). There’s a huge North-South divide in prostate cancer diagnoses. We need your help to change it. Accessed 08.10.24.

3. Cancer Research UK. Prostate cancer statistics. Accessed 08.10.24.

4. ESMO Real World Data and Digital Oncology (December 2024). Using real world data to bridge the evidence gap left by prostate cancer screening trials. Accessed 14.10.24. 

5. The Royal College of Radiologists (May 2017). NHS must do more to future-proof its MRI capacity, say imaging experts. Accessed 08.10.24.

6. Data from a listening exercise through a survey of almost 800 men in 2024. The survey was conducted by Prostate Cancer Research with the support of Tackle Prostate Cancer.

7. The Royal College of Radiologists. The SACT capacity crisis in the NHS. Accessed 08.10.24.

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