The Prime Minister has announced £75 million of new funding to support research into the early diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. The funding will support the recruitment of more than 40,000 men into 60 prostate cancer studies over the next five years.
The studies will particularly focus on high-risk groups, including Black men, those aged 50 years and over, and those with a positive family history. Treatment approaches being studied include targeted radiotherapy, high-intensity focused ultrasound, and cryotherapy. The details of the plan have not yet been released.
Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the funding will refocus efforts to develop new treatments. “The NHS is a world leader in fighting cancer and survival rates are at record highs but there is still more to do. This research will ensure that many more lives are saved,” he said.
The Prime Minister announced the funding while visiting Cambridgeshire on Tuesday (April 10) to meet doctors, nurses and other NHS staff about current and future demand on the service.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, she said: “Now in its 70th year, our NHS has a bright future. Since last November, we have already committed £10 billion in new funding, including a new pay deal for one million NHS workers. In fact, as part of our balanced approach to managing the economy we have increased spending on the health service every year since 2010. But I’m clear the way to secure the NHS’s future is having a long-term plan, with sustainable multi-year funding.”
