Response to National Prostate Cancer Audit (NPCA) State of the Nation Report 2025

New figures from the National Prostate Cancer Audit (NPCA), published today by the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre (NATCAN), show that prostate cancer cases are continuing to rise across England, with more men than ever receiving surgery and radiotherapy.

In 2024, 58,218 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in England, a 9% increase on 2023 (53,462) and up from 49,974 in 2022. 

The number of men receiving radical treatments is also climbing. In England, both radical prostatectomies and radiotherapy increased by 13% in 2024 compared with 2023. The National Prostate Cancer Audit is the first national clinical audit of the care that men receive following a diagnosis of prostate cancer. It evaluates patterns of care and outcomes, and reports on diagnosis, treatment and outcomes for men diagnosed with prostate cancer in England and Wales.

NATCAN, based in the Clinical Effectiveness Unit of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, aims to strengthen NHS cancer services by looking into all treatments and patient outcomes across England and Wales.

Other findings include: 

• Fewer men are being diagnosed with later stage disease: In 2022, 12% of men were diagnosed with metastatic disease (where the cancer had already spread), compared with 17% in 2021. This reflects a rise in non-metastatic diagnoses (28,223 in 2021 vs 35,306 in 2022) and only a small drop in metastatic cases (6,161 vs 5,696). 
• Variation in rates of radical treatment between specialist Multidisciplinary Teams (sMDTs): In 2022 (England) and 2023 (Wales), 7% of men with low-risk prostate cancer (Cambridge Prognostic Group (CPG) risk score of 1), received radical treatment. This proportion is expected to be low since men in this group usually do not need radical treatment. However, the figures varied widely between sMDTs - from 2% to 40% of men in England, and 3% to 10% men in Wales receiving treatment. For men with high-risk or locally advanced prostate cancer, around 69% of men in England and 68% of men in Wales received radical treatment. Again, there was wide variation between sMDTs: in some, less than half of men (46% in England, 48% in Wales) received treatment, while in others up to 87% of men did. 
• Complications and readmissions remain stable: The proportion of men requiring emergency readmission within 90 days of surgery, experiencing genitourinary (GU) complications within two years of prostatectomy, or developing radiation-related complications, within two years of radiotherapy has remained similar to previous years.

Professor Noel Clarke, Clinical Lead (Urology), representing the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS), said:

“Prostate cancer cases are rising year on year, with over 58,000 men diagnosed in England in 2024. While it is good that more men are being diagnosed earlier and treated, Trusts need to consider the implications for staffing and capacity.  

“We must also tackle the inequalities revealed by the audit so that age or postcode never determine the quality of care men receive.” 

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. The National Prostate Cancer Audit (NPCA) can be found on the NATCAN website: https://www.natcan.org.uk/reports/npca-state-of-the-nation-report-2025/

2. The National Prostate Cancer Audit (NPCA) evaluates patterns of care and outcomes and reports on diagnosis, treatment and outcomes for men diagnosed with prostate cancer in England and Wales. As much as possible, we compare practice and outcomes against national guidance and quality standards, including those from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to help NHS organisations benchmark their prostate cancer care against measurable standards and to identify unwarranted variation in measures of processes and outcomes.  

3. The NPCA is driven by the Project Team members, supported by members of NATCAN, our Clinical Reference Group, our PPI group and our wider group of stakeholders (British Association of Urological Surgeons [BAUS], British Uro-oncology Group [BUG], HQIP, NHS England, Prostate Cancer UK, Royal College of Surgeons of England, and Welsh Government). 

4. The National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre (NATCAN) is commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) and funded by NHS England and the Welsh Government as part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP). NATCAN delivers national audits in bowel, breast (primary and metastatic), kidney, lung, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, oesophago-gastric, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate cancers.   

5. The Clinical Effectiveness Unit (CEU) is a collaboration between the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the Department of Health Services Research and Policy of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Since its inception in 1998, the CEU has become a national centre of expertise in the methods, organisation, and logistics of large-scale studies of the quality of surgical care. It has fostered collaborative links with professional organisations, the Department of Health and Social Care, and other relevant bodies within the NHS.    

6. The Royal College of Surgeons of England provides world-class education, assessment, and development to 30,000 surgeons, dental professionals, and members of the wider surgical and dental care teams, at all stages of their careers. Our vision is to see excellent surgical care for everyone. We do this by setting professional standards, facilitating research and championing the best outcomes for patients.        

7. For more information, please contact the RCS England press office: telephone: 020 7869 6054/6053/6060; email: pressoffice@rcseng.ac.uk; out-of-hours media enquiries: 0207 869 6056.