Today, the first men have been invited to join the ambitious £42 million TRANSFORM screening trial, kicking off the biggest prostate cancer screening study in a generation.
The trial will test the most promising prostate cancer screening techniques available – including a saliva test to assess genetic risk of the disease – to identify the safest, most accurate and most cost-effective way to screen men.
A landmark trial
The TRANSFORM screening trial is co-led by six of the world’s leading prostate cancer researchers – including Professor Ros Eeles from The Institute of Cancer Research, London.
The trial will be delivered in partnership with the NHS through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which has committed £16m, with the remaining £26m funded by Prostate Cancer UK.
Today, the first men will begin receiving letters from their GPs, inviting them to join the landmark trial designed to make diagnosis earlier, safer, and more effective. It will revolutionise diagnosis by testing the most promising screening techniques available, including PSA blood tests, genetic spit tests and fast MRI scans, combined in ways that have never before been tested in a large-scale screening trial.
Read more about our prostate cancer research
Testing new ways to diagnose prostate cancer
The opening of TRANSFORM comes as the UK National Screening Committee (NSC) is soon to announce its decision on whether current evidence supports the introduction of screening for prostate cancer in the UK.
TRANSFORM goes far beyond this existing evidence, testing new ways to diagnose the disease that could find the cancers that today’s methods miss. However, the trial will also quickly produce robust new information about the tests we currently use. If the NSC decides there is insufficient evidence to recommend screening now, these early results could help shift the evidence in favour of screening in as little as two years.
Tackling inequalities
TRANSFORM has also been specifically designed to help tackle inequalities in prostate cancer research and care. Black men are twice as likely to get prostate cancer and twice as likely to die from it. Yet historically, too few Black men have been recruited into trials to generate reliable evidence of how effective screening would be for them.
To help address this, at least one in ten men invited to the trial will be Black, and the charity and trial team will work with Black community leaders and organisations to ensure good representation of Black men in the trial, to ensure that future evidence is informed by, and reliable for, the men who stand to get the most benefit from screening.
Creating a bank of prostate cancer samples
Those recruited this week will form part of the initial 16,000 men taking part in stage one, which will test new techniques against the current NHS diagnostic pathway. The approaches that prove most effective will then be tested in a much larger group of up to 300,000 men making it the biggest prostate cancer trial launched in more than two decades. The massive scale of TRANSFORM will also allow the creation of the biggest ever bank of prostate cancer samples, images and data to power the development of new tests and treatments for decades into the future.
Recruitment to the trial begins today
The trial will recruit men aged 50–74 (or 45–74 for some groups known to have poorer outcomes, such as Black men). The first testing site to open is the InHealth Community Diagnostic Centre in Ealing, with more opening soon across the UK. Men will be invited directly by their GPs, so the trial mirrors how a future screening programme would operate. It is not possible to volunteer for the trial, but anyone who receives a letter is strongly encouraged to take part.
TRANSFORM will bring together six of the world’s leading prostate cancer researchers, alongside 16 co-applicants from across the country, to take on the biggest prostate cancer screening trial for 20 years. Professor Ros Eeles will lead a team at the ICR to discover how targeted genetic screening could help to save lives, building on decades of research into the genetic markers of prostate cancer.
The other five lead researchers are Professor Hashim Ahmed, Imperial College London, Professor Mark Emberton, University College London, Professor Rhian Gabe, Queen Mary University of London, Professor Rakesh Heer, Imperial College London, and Professor Caroline Moore, University College London.
'Wonderful to see the trial launch today'
Professor Ros Eeles, Professor of Oncogenetics at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Consultant in Clinical Oncology and Cancer Genetics at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“We have already identified more than 400 genetic variants that are inherited and associated with a risk of prostate cancer in diverse populations.
“TRANSFORM is a game changer because it will allow us to rigorously test genetic markers on a large scale in men from diverse ancestries. This could give us the information we need to use genetic risk scores to identify men at risk of aggressive cancer who will need regular tests, while sparing men at low-risk from having unnecessary biopsies and treatments.
“It’s wonderful to see the trial launch today – it brings us one step closer to ensuring prostate cancer diagnosis is safe, effective, and equitable for all men.”
Laura Kerby, Chief Executive at Prostate Cancer UK, said:
“The future of prostate cancer screening starts today. It’s incredible to see the launch of this once-in-a-generation trial that so many people have worked to make possible, from our scientists to our amazing supporters raising funds.
“We’re delighted that the UK government, through the NIHR, has partnered with us to help make TRANSFORM a success, and has committed an incredible £16m of funding. We are also incredibly grateful to all our founding partners and major donors who have got us to this exciting milestone. Now we need the public to stand up and be part of it. The men signing up for the study, and the people who donate to keep it running, will have the power to help save thousands of lives each year in the UK and even hundreds of thousands globally.”
'A major milestone'
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Chief Executive Officer of the NIHR, said:
“The start of recruitment for the TRANSFORM trial marks a major milestone in prostate cancer research. The NIHR is proud to be driving this forward with Prostate Cancer UK and supporting this landmark study with £16 million, reflecting our confidence in the trial and our commitment to research that saves and improves lives.
"There is a pressing need to establish a robust and effective screening programme for prostate cancer - and it needs to include Black men who are at double the risk of prostate cancer diagnosis. Thanks to Prostate Cancer UK’s leadership and the TRANSFORM team’s commitment and expertise, we will soon have the evidence we need to show the best, safest and most effective way to screen men across the UK."
Wes Streeting, Health and Social Care Secretary, said:
“Prostate cancer is one of the biggest killers of men in the UK. Devastatingly, around one in eight will get it and that risk is doubled in Black men.
“But today marks a turning point for prostate cancer care in this country, as the first men are invited to take part in this game-changing trial funded by the government and Prostate Cancer UK.
“When the UK National Screening Committee share their initial findings on screening for prostate cancer, I will look carefully at their recommendations as I am determined to bring about genuine change. Just this week, this government announced that men with prostate cancer will be able to book a blood test on the NHS App in the comfort of their own home, as part of our landmark Men’s Health Strategy.”
Finding the best way to know if someone does have prostate cancer
Steve Kavanagh, 64, from North Baddesley in Hampshire, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2023. Steve said:
“My dad and a close friend both had prostate cancer, so I was always very aware of my risk and had regular PSA tests over the years.
"My level was higher than normal without being alarming, and when I was referred for more tests, at first they didn’t find anything. But when I was finally diagnosed, my consultant told me he thought the cancer could have been there for four years already and had been missed or was not visible in an earlier biopsy – it was found after a second scan and ‘targeted’ biopsy.
"That’s what makes TRANSFORM so important. It’s not just about giving everyone PSA tests, it’s about finding the best way to make sure that if you do have cancer, it isn’t missed. I’d really encourage anyone who can to support Prostate Cancer UK, and if you get a letter inviting you to take part in TRANSFORM, please consider saying yes. It could make all the difference.”
At £42 million, TRANSFORM is the biggest single research investment ever made by Prostate Cancer UK and has been backed financially by seven Founding Partners, whose visionary support has made this landmark trial possible: Cockburn Shaw Legacy; Freddie Green and Family Charitable Foundation; Garfield Weston Foundation; Movember; National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR); Omaze; and Paddy Power.