Much research in the field has focused on refining the process to minimise the harms of screening.
And Prof Ahmed is running the Transform trial, external, starting next year, to compare the most promising technologies.
But the results could be 10 years away.
In the meantime, Prostate Cancer Research’s report, external says, screening 45-69-year-olds at high risk – black men and those with a family history of the disease or particular gene mutations – would deliver an economic benefit, after factoring in the cost of treatment and the impact on working lives and carers.
“Finding and treating cancers early outweighs the harms of over-treatment by four times,” the charity’s chief executive, Oliver Kemp, says.
And another charity, Prostate Cancer UK, says the report supports its call to overhaul “dangerously outdated NHS guidance that is leading to too many men receiving a late, incurable diagnoses”.
