More black men to benefit from prostate cancer screening trial

Tens of thousands more black men aged 45-74 are to be invited for prostate cancer checks as part of an ongoing trial in the UK to find better ways of testing for the disease.

The move, announced by the government, has been welcomed by charities and campaigners as "a truly historic moment".

It comes as ministers have backed the UK National Screening Committee's recent recommendation that most men should not be offered regular testing for the disease .

The committee says the harms of using a blood test, called PSA, for screening outweigh the benefits in the majority of cases, except for "a few thousand" men who have a dangerous genetic variant and a family history of cancer.

Men can talk to their doctor about whether a PSA (prostate specific antigen) test might be helpful. People should not ignore prostate symptoms, such as difficulty urinating.

But while testing healthy men with no symptoms could save some lives, it would also lead to treatment that can leave some men unable to control their bladder or have an erection.

Some prostate tumours do not need treating immediately and may never be life-threatening, which is one reason why widespread screening is not being recommended.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with 64,000 men diagnosed and 12,000 dying each year.