Change prostate cancer treatment for black men to avoid ‘epidemic’, NHS urged

The NHS must change how black men are treated for prostate cancer to prevent “an epidemic of unnecessary deaths” in which twice as many die as white men, campaigners have warned.

Academics are seeking to raise awareness that one in four black men are getting this cancer, twice the rate of white men, which is one in eight, according to Prostate Cancer UK’s analysis of patient datasets for England. One in 12 black men are at risk of dying of this condition compared with one in 24 white men.

“We are living through an epidemic of unnecessary deaths of black men,” said Stafford Scott a community activist. “Prostate cancer is not colour blind. Not only is the death rate twice as high in black men as white men but we are being diagnosed late and so are coming into the system late.”

Scott, the director of the organisation Tottenham Rights, is teaming up with experts to launch a podcast series calling for fundamental changes in the NHS approach to prostate cancer and its high incidence among black men to prevent many more deaths.

This would reflect Prostate Cancer UK’s call to change “outdated NHS guidelines” so that GPs can be advised to start conversations with black men earlier and discuss with them taking prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests to indicate cancer.

Approximately 55,300 new prostate cancer cases are diagnosed across the UK every year and this figure is projected to rise by 15% in the next 15 years.

Scott suggested that prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment could also be improved through broader NHS reforms, such as improving how it recruits and promotes black staff, including into leadership positions; partnering with black-led organisations to rebuild trust; improving transparency of health data; and increasing independent oversight of the NHS treatment black men receive.

“For too long, black men have been failed by the very system that is meant to keep us well. The result is a cycle of mistrust, late intervention, and preventable deaths,” he said.

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Source: The Guardian, 24 September 2025