Prostate cancer deaths set to increase following Covid pandemic

The study found a rise in the proportion of men diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer, as well as an increase in the proportion of men diagnosed in A&E. 

This is concerning because almost all men treated for stage 1 or 2 prostate cancer will live for at least five years after diagnosis, but the rate falls to around 50% for those treated at stage 4.  

There was also a sharp rise in the percentage of men with prostate cancer who died in the first months of the pandemic, from 7% in 2018/19 to 26% in 2020. The increase cannot be explained by Covid deaths alone. 

Our research makes it clear it is urgent that men at risk across the UK get the information and encouragement they need to speak to their GP. 

One way to help men do that is by sharing our risk checker far and wide.

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Finding the missing men with undiagnosed prostate cancer

Presented at the 2022 European Society for Molecular Oncology (ESMO) conference, the study comes six months after we worked with the NHS to launch a public campaign to find the estimated 14,000 men who were not diagnosed during the first years of the pandemic.  

Thanks to our campaign - and our supporters sharing the risk checker with men in their lives - prostate cancer referrals hit an all-time high in March, and there are promising signs that referrals have remained higher than pre-pandemic levels.

These numbers - and the Fry-Turnbull effect, where the NHS saw an unprecedented spike in referrals for suspected prostate cancer in 2018 after Stephen Fry and Bill Turnbull made their diagnoses public - show the difference we make when we rally together.

This will be vital, as the scale of changes to diagnosis and care illustrated by this study will lead to significantly worse outcomes for men, for many years to come, if referral rates remain low.  

For instance, of those men diagnosed with prostate cancer during the pandemic, fewer than usual were between 45 and 75 years old.  

Men diagnosed at a younger age have a good prognosis if caught early, but if diagnosed with advanced cancer tend to have worse outcomes than their older counterparts, making it urgent that these men be found quickly. 

Chiara De Biase, Director of Support & Influencing at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “This data is extremely worrying and shows how vital it is that more is done to raise awareness of prostate cancer - particularly among men at higher risk. 

“At least 14,000 fewer men were diagnosed during the pandemic, and we now know that unless things change, we’re facing the regrettable prospect of worsening health outcomes for men. 

“In the wake of the sad passing of our ambassador Bill Turnbull we are all reminded of the importance of public awareness to support timely diagnoses – Bill’s determination to raise awareness saw record numbers of men diagnosed in 2018. To recover from the impact of the pandemic we will need to see a similar sustained rise in men speaking to their GPs about prostate cancer.”

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