Focal therapy for prostate cancer not widely available on NHS
Focal therapy, a less invasive treatment for prostate cancer, offers hope but is not widely available on the NHS, according to a report.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A new report has highlighted that focal therapy, a less invasive treatment for prostate cancer, is not widely available on the NHS, despite offering hope to many men. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and kills around 12,000 people in the UK each year. Standard treatments such as prostatectomy can lead to life-changing side effects including incontinence and erectile dysfunction.
Focal therapy uses heat or extreme cold to destroy only cancerous cells, leaving healthy tissue intact and reducing the risk of side effects. The treatment is currently available at some NHS and private centres, but it is not routinely offered because clinicians lacked long-term evidence of its effectiveness. That changed last month when the results of a decade-long study were published, showing that 99% of patients were alive after 10 years and did not die from their prostate cancer, with a low side effect profile.
Former Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2019, underwent focal therapy after being initially offered a prostatectomy. He said he wanted other men to have all the options he did. Prostate Cancer UK is now calling on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to recommend focal therapy for all eligible NHS patients. The charity estimates that currently about 1,000 men benefit from the treatment each year, but if it were universally offered, up to 15,000 men could benefit annually.
A spokesperson for NICE said its independent committee will review the new evidence as part of a planned update to prostate cancer guidelines. Every 45 minutes a man dies from prostate cancer in the UK, and campaigners hope wider access to focal therapy could help reduce that toll.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | ITV |
|---|---|
| A decade-long study showed that at 10 years, 99% of patients are alive and do not die from their prostate cancer with a low side effect profile. | |
| Focal therapy uses either heat or extreme cold to destroy only cancerous cells, preserving healthy tissues and reducing side effects. | |
| Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and claims around 12,000 lives in the UK every year. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The report focused heavily on the personal story of former Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan, using his experience to humanise the issue. It highlighted his initial fear and his search for alternatives to invasive surgery, and then presented the clinical evidence and the call for wider NHS availability. The tone was sympathetic and supportive of the campaign for change.
- “I'm supposed to be a brave person, I do daring things in my career and I climb up things, but it's a different feeling that when something happens in your life where you have to be brave about yourself.”
- “At 10 years, the majority of patients, 99%, are alive and do not die from their prostate cancer and the side effect profile is quite low.”
- “We believe that if this was universally offered, so in places where men need it, up to 15,000 men could benefit from it each year.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.