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Written question asked by Julian Lewis (Conservative) on Monday, 9 February 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 12 February 2026 (named day). A holding answer was provided on Friday, 13 February 2026. A substantive answer was provided by Ashley Dalton (Labour) on Monday, 2 March 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Prostate Cancer: Screening

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the recent review by the UK National Screening Committee of evidence on prostate cancer screening considered the potential value for money of adopting (a) shorter and (b) simplified MRI protocols, including biparametric MRI, to reduce unit costs of prostate cancer screening in NHS settings.

Answer

The evidence considered by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is available in the consultation on their prostate cancer recommendation page at the following link:

https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/prostate-cancer/

The pathway considered the use of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging as per National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance.

It is important to note that cost effectiveness is only one of the criteria that the UK NSC uses to assess the case for screening. Benefits, harms, acceptability, feasibility, and test characteristics are all important.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
111606
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Cost effectiveness Prostate cancer Screening Magnetic resonance imagers
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk