Health Secretary James Murray will today announce that all black men in England will be offered the opportunity to participate in expanded prostate cancer screening trials.
The decision comes as Mr Murray accepts his advisers' recommendations to limit routine screening to only a small number of men, while simultaneously broadening access to clinical research.
The TRANSFORM study, which investigates methods for earlier prostate cancer detection, will be extended to invite all eligible black men for the first time.
This move signals ministerial frustration with what critics have described as overly cautious guidance based on outdated evidence.
Prostate screening involves an MRI scan of the prostate
|GETTY
The UK National Screening Committee faced fierce criticism last week after recommending that testing be restricted to "just a few thousand" men carrying a rare genetic mutation combined with specific family history.
Charities, prostate specialists and campaigners expressed outrage at the guidance, which fell considerably short of demands for routine screening among high-risk groups.
The committee was accused of "condemning thousands to preventable deaths" with its restrictive approach.
Black men, who face double the risk of developing prostate cancer and dying from the disease, were excluded from eligibility under the original recommendations, as were those with family history alone.
Following the initial research phase, black men between 45 and 74 years old who have not undergone a prostate-specific antigen blood test or MRI prostate scan within the previous five years will become eligible to join the trial.
Researchers had previously indicated that black men should comprise at least one in ten participants due to insufficient research involving this demographic group.
Mr Murray's announcement goes beyond these initial targets by opening participation to all qualifying black men.
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The Government is also set to introduce fresh guidance enabling GPs to better assist men who suspect they may have a family history of the disease in requesting PSA testing.
Prostate screening involves a blood test measuring prostate-specific antigen levels, with an MRI scan of the prostate conducted depending on the results.
James Murray will announce that all black men in England will be offered the opportunity to participate in the screening
According to a major National Screening Committee review, screening 1,000 men in their fifties would prevent two prostate cancer deaths over a 15-year period.
However, the same screening would result in 20 men receiving diagnoses for cancers that would never require treatment.
Certain prostate cancers develop so gradually that patients would need to live well beyond 120 years before they posed any threat, yet those diagnosed must carry the psychological weight of a cancer diagnosis indefinitely.
At present, men without symptoms may request PSA tests from their GP, though doctors cannot proactively offer them.
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