500,000 men to receive NHS cancer research invites

demoduck.co.uk editorial team 2026-08-03 13:11 3 min read

Professional medical laboratory equipment for research and diagnostic testing on a bench.

By the demoduck.co.uk News Desk

Source update: 2 August 2026

Half a million men who have experienced prostate cancer are being invited to contribute their health records and personal experiences to a research resource intended to improve future diagnosis, treatment and care.

The NHS will send letters and text messages explaining how eligible men can register for Prostate Progress. Recruitment began in early August and will continue over the coming months, supported by the NHS DigiTrials service and led by the charity Prostate Cancer Research.

Organisers hope the programme will become one of the world’s largest prostate cancer research resources. Participation is designed to support future research rather than promise a change to an individual participant’s current treatment.

Who will receive letters and text messages

Invitations are being sent to more than 500,000 men who are living with prostate cancer or have previously had the disease. The contact will explain how to register for the programme.

The NHS has not described this as a general invitation to all men. The recruitment campaign is directed at people with experience of prostate cancer, whose medical histories and accounts of living with the condition can be studied together.

The programme follows an initial pilot involving 5,000 recruits. NHS England is encouraging recipients to consider joining when their invitation arrives.

Questionnaires will be linked with NHS records

Men who register will be asked to complete questionnaires every few months. These will record their experiences of prostate cancer, including symptoms, treatment side effects and quality of life.

Participants will also agree to the secure linkage of their NHS records for approved research. Verified researchers will then be able to compare the care recorded by the NHS, such as scans and treatments, with information supplied directly by patients about how the disease affected their lives.

500,000 men to receive NHS cancer research invites

This combination is central to the project. A clinical record can show which procedures or medicines a patient received, while questionnaires can capture effects and experiences that may not be visible in routine medical data.

Research could shape tests, treatments and services

Prostate Progress aims to help researchers investigate why some cancers become aggressive, identify dangerous disease earlier and develop better tests and treatments. The linked information could also be used to monitor treatment safety, design clinical trials and inform future NHS services.

The programme comes as prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK. Around 60,000 new cases are diagnosed annually, while more than 12,000 people die from the disease each year, according to figures cited by NHS England.

Professor Peter Johnson, the NHS National Clinical Director for Cancer, said detailed evidence about how prostate cancer affects men’s lives is needed to continue improving care. He urged people who receive an invitation to sign up.

Black men are a recruitment priority

Organisers are particularly seeking participation from Black men, who are approximately twice as likely to develop prostate cancer. Around one in four Black men in the UK is expected to receive a diagnosis during his lifetime.

Greater representation could help researchers examine differences in diagnosis, treatment and outcomes. Actor Colin McFarlane, who has had prostate cancer, said research cannot produce representative solutions when Black men are missing from the underlying data.

Sir Stephen Fry, diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2018, is also supporting the programme. He described participation as a way for men to turn individual experiences into knowledge that may help future generations.

Men who receive a Prostate Progress letter or text will find registration instructions in the invitation. Those who join should expect recurring questionnaires and the approved research use of securely linked NHS information.

Source: NHS England News

Context & actions About this article

Source check Source trail

The participation details, recruitment figures and cancer statistics were checked against the NHS England announcement updated on 2 August 2026.

Checks

Confirmed that invitations target more than 500,000 men who have or previously had prostat...
Checked that participation involves recurring questionnaires and secure linkage with NHS r...
Confirmed that Prostate Cancer Research leads the programme with support from NHS DigiTria...
Distinguished the programme’s research aims from any promise of individual medical benefit...

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