Consultant urologist warns UK is falling behind Europe on prostate cancer screening as PSA test row grows

A leading consultant urologist has told GB News that the UK is falling behind Europe on prostate cancer detection, arguing there is still no clear explanation for why a wider screening programme has not been introduced.
Chris Booth, Consultant Urologist and founder of CHAPS, said PSA testing remains a cheap and effective way of identifying men who may need further investigation, particularly when combined with modern MRI scans.
Speaking to GB News, Booth said: “PSA blood tests are really very cheap. They don’t cost anything more than about £7 a test, so it’s a very simple, very cheap test.”
“It’s also very accurate. It’s often mischaracterised as providing too many false positive results and false negative results, but PSA is only a guide.”
“If you have an abnormal PSA, then we know that one in four men with an abnormal PSA have prostate cancer, so anybody with an abnormal PSA needs to go on to the definitive test, and that is an MRI scan.”
Booth stressed that PSA testing should not be viewed as a diagnosis in itself, but as an initial screening tool to identify men who require further checks.
He told GB News that advances in MRI technology had transformed prostate cancer diagnosis and strengthened the case for wider screening.
He said: “MRI scanning has absolutely changed completely and revolutionised our ability to diagnose prostate cancer safely and accurately.”
“That’s all come in in the last five years, and we’ve got very good statistics demonstrating the efficacy of MRI scanning.”
Booth also questioned why the UK still does not have a national prostate cancer screening programme, saying the reasoning behind the current approach has never been properly explained.
He said, “I think that the lack of a screening programme is something that has never been properly explained, either by the National Screening Committee or the Department of Health, so it’s not clear to me what the hold up is.”
“I think we’re out of line with Europe. In footballing terms, our saving of deaths is somewhere down in the old third or fourth division.”
“Whilst Europe is pushing ahead with screening programmes, we’re being held up by what appear to me to be somewhat incomprehensible recommendations coming out of our National Screening Committee.”
The consultant claimed Britain was lagging behind European countries that are moving ahead with prostate cancer screening programmes, despite improvements in diagnostic technology and growing evidence around early detection.
Booth also warned that failing to diagnose prostate cancer early carries significant costs for both patients and the NHS.
He said: “The cost of early treatment and curative treatment of early stage prostate cancer is about £15,000, but treating stage four advanced prostate cancer is more than 10 times that amount.”
“The quality of life of men with advanced prostate cancer on long-term hormonal and chemotherapy regimes, which may keep them alive for many years, is unfortunately poor.”
Booth told GB News that the debate should now focus on making better use of low-cost PSA testing alongside modern MRI diagnostics, rather than continuing to judge PSA testing in isolation.
He warned that delays in diagnosis risk leaving men facing more aggressive treatment, poorer quality of life and substantially higher costs to the health service.