Prostate cancer became the most common cancer diagnosed in males in the UK in 2018, with around 52 300 new cases.1 The COVID-19 pandemic impacted prostate cancer diagnoses more than any other tumour type and up to 14 000 fewer prostate cancer cases were detected in the first 2 years of the pandemic than would be expected based on long-term trends.2,3 This was thought to be in part due to fewer patients coming forward to their GP with symptoms warranting an urgent suspected cancer (‘2-week wait’) referral or to discuss opportunistic prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening. Early-stage diagnosis (stage I/II) of clinically significant prostate cancer is crucial for improving outcomes for patients with prostate cancer. Five-year survival for patients with prostate cancer diagnosed at stage I or II is close to 100%, whereas for patients diagnosed at stage IV, around 50 out of every 100 men — around 50% — will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.4 The delays in prostate cancer diagnosis for thousands of patients as a result of the pandemic could have significant long-term effects. This will make achieving the NHS Long Term Plan aim of diagnosing 75% of patients with early-stage cancer by 2028 all the more difficult.5

The vast majority of patients with prostate cancer are diagnosed following a referral from their GP. …