The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) makes recommendations to ministers in the 4 UK countries about all aspects of screening.
At its meeting in March 2026, the independent scientific committee recommended the introduction of the UK’s first prostate cancer screening programme, targeted at one cohort of men with specific gene variants. This recommendation was informed by an updated modelling study carried out by experts at the Sheffield Centre of Health and Related Research (SCHARR).
As announced in May, the government is commissioning and funding SCHARR to maintain this model for a further 3 years and continue its work with the UK NSC. This means significant new data and evidence can be considered for inclusion in the model throughout the life of the contract. Evidence will be considered for inclusion where it is of high quality, has been peer reviewed and is available in the public literature.
The SCHARR model uses data and evidence from a variety of sources. Some of this information – for example, epidemiological data and NHS costs – will need to be kept updated on a rolling basis throughout the 3-year period to ensure the most up-to-date and relevant data is used before any new analyses are run.
The SCHARR team and the UK NSC secretariat are already working to identify and consider new evidence, including:
- whether the definition of family history and its impact on prostate cancer screening can be refined
- evidence relating to risk algorithms and biomarkers, for example, the Stockholm3 test
If this new evidence is found to meet the criteria for inclusion specified above, then the model will be adjusted to allow for different risk-stratified screening pathways for men based on the results of multiple tests.
In addition, the UK NSC secretariat is liaising with the research team running the TRANSFORM trial, which is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The UK NSC will work with SCHARR to ensure the model is updated where any significant information emerges from this large-scale research trial, especially evidence relating to the screening of Black men.
Findings from the live model will be considered carefully and inform future UK NSC recommendations.
The UK NSC 2026 open call for topics is open until 30 September. Any open call submissions related to new evidence on prostate cancer can also be considered for inclusion in the model, if appropriate.
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