What its position is regarding the potential introduction of a universal prostate cancer screening programme in Scotland.

The Scottish Government, along with the other nations of the UK, follows the advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group, when setting screening policy.The UK NSC does not currently recommend a universal screening programme for prostate cancer. However, on 28 May, the Committee recommended two yearly screening for men aged 45-61 who have both a BRCA2 gene variant and a family history of breast, ovarian, pancreatic or prostate cancer. The Committee concluded that there is sufficient evidence in this group to determine that the benefits of screening outweigh potential harms. The Scottish Government will set out how we will implement this recommendation in due course.The UK NSC did not recommend screening more widely because they have concluded that there is not yet sufficient evidence to show that the benefits for other men would outweigh the risks. Evidence shows that current methods of screening can miss some cancers and are not accurate enough at identifying which men with prostate cancer will require treatment. This can lead to the detection of cancers that would not have caused harm in a person’s lifetime, resulting in unnecessary tests and treatments with potentially serious, long term side effects.Research into alternative screening methods is ongoing, including the use of MRI and blood tests. Of particular note is the TRANSFORM study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and Prostate Cancer UK, which will run over ten years and recruit hundreds of thousands of men. Early findings will be shared with the UK NSC to inform future decisions, and the Scottish Government will monitor progress of the trial closely.