Thousands of men with prostate cancer facing unnecessary overtreatment, experts warn

Up to 5,000 men every year could be facing unnecessary overtreatment for prostate cancer due to ‘outdated’ guidelines, a charity has warned.

Overtreatment of the disease can lead to side effects such as erectile dysfunction or incontinence, according to Prostate Cancer UK.

Patients whose cancer is unlikely to progress may only need close monitoring. But experts say out-of-date guidance from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has created a "wild west" of what is implemented in the NHS.

NICE guidance currently only advises active surveillance as the preferred approach for men who have the lowest-risk cancer. But these guidelines have not been updated since 2021, and the Prostate Cancer UK argues they do not take into account advances in testing and diagnosis.

Professor Vincent Gnanapragasam, professor of urology at the University of Cambridge, said: “Active surveillance is the best treatment option for men whose cancer is unlikely to progress or cause them problems in their lifetime.

“But NICE’s outdated guidelines have created a deeply concerning wild west on how surveillance is implemented by different health care teams. This inconsistency is resulting in a lack of confidence from patients in surveillance, who may instead opt to have treatment they may not have ever needed, risking harmful side effects.”

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Source: The Independent, 12 August 2025