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New funding enables TRANSFORM prostate cancer screening trial to invite all eligible black men

The UK Department of Health and Social Care has announced an additional investment of up to £18million, to extend the landmark TRANSFORM prostate cancer screening trial to invite all eligible Black men. The funding will enable the trial (originally funded for £42million) to invite Black men aged 45-74 who have not had a recent PSA blood test to participate.

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The risk of prostate cancer in Black men is double the risk for other men. One in four Black men will develop the disease, and those aged over 45 or with a family history of the disease are at greater risk.

TRANSFORM, a landmark national trial funded by Prostate Cancer UK and the NIHR, aims to find the best way to screen for prostate cancer and increase the number of lives saved. It will test the most promising screening techniques available, including PSA blood tests, MRI scans, and genetic profiling, combined in ways that have never been tested before in a large-scale screening trial. 

Previous trials have not included enough Black men to adequately demonstrate the harms and benefits of screening for this group, despite their significantly higher risk. Invitations to thousands of Black men are already being sent as part of stage 1 of TRANSFORM, but this extra investment will radically increase the number of invitations sent out as part of the second stage of TRANSFORM.

TRANSFORM Co-Lead and Professor of Biostatistics and Clinical Trials in the Wolfson Institute of Population Health at Queen Mary University of London, Rhian Gabe, said: "This welcome investment addresses some of the most challenging aspects with respect to the introduction of prostate cancer screening: obtaining quality evidence in a high-risk group and availability of optimal treatments for those in whom cancer is detected. Black men are at higher risk of prostate cancer, but have been underrepresented in the evidence informing screening policy. The investment in TRANSFORM will allow us to address this inequality, increase the scale of TRANSFORM, and reliability of our evidence for all men."

The new funding means that TRANSFORM will be the largest prostate cancer screening trial in 20 years, and the most diverse and representative trial of the UK population ever undertaken.

Queen Mary researchers have provided methodological leadership through the design and analysis of TRANSFORM, and are leading the behavioural science and primary care components of the trial. This work focuses on understanding how to make it as relevant and inclusive as possible for people to take part in the trial, particularly for those who have historically faced barriers to accessing prostate cancer testing and care.

A key part of this approach has been working in close partnership with Black communities. The research team have collaborated with community organisations, health advocates, charities, and local groups, in London and across the UK, to understand people’s experiences and priorities, focusing on how to make testing more accessible and ensure that any future screening programme is fair and responsive to community needs.

The research team also facilitates the Public & Patient Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) work for the TRANSFORM trial, helping to ensure that people with lived experience of prostate cancer are involved at every stage. This work enables the study to develop information and resources that reflect real experiences that are meaningful, sensitive and appropriate for the communities they are intended to serve.

The strong partnerships being developed with Black communities will support the development of inclusive and informed approaches to inviting all eligible Black men to take part in prostate cancer screening.

For more information on the trial, visit:

https://prostatecanceruk.org/research/transform-trial

 

 

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