DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Prostate screening trial gives men hope trends now
Prostate cancer is becoming a greater scourge as men live longer.
Over the past two decades, the number diagnosed with this pernicious disease has increased by a staggering 50 per cent.
It remains the most common form of cancer among males, with 52,000 cases recorded each year.
Despite medical progress, the mortality rate has actually risen since 1980, with sadly over 12,000 men dying of it annually.
Methods of screening men for prostate cancer are set to be trialled in a bid to save thousands of lives in the UK each year
The reasons these figures are so obstinately high are not difficult to detect. First, because this disease is largely symptomless, it is devilishly tricky to diagnose early.
Some men are still reluctant to undergo intimate check-ups. And because medical tests have been notoriously unreliable, there has been no nationwide screening programme, such as for breast cancer.
Which is why the Mail has fought passionately to raise awareness of and increase resources for prostate cancer. Today, our End Needless Prostate Deaths campaign has scored a huge victory.
Health chiefs have announced a £42million screening trial that could revolutionise detection of the disease. With luck, the groundbreaking research, which will use MRI scans and other techniques, should give significantly more accurate results.
This would allow for quicker treatment before the cancer becomes more aggressive – ultimately saving thousands of lives.
This important breakthrough is timely, too, as King Charles was making a return to public
