Thousands of men with prostate cancer are to be offered high-powered ‘precision’ radiotherapy on the NHS to target the disease more effectively, helping reduce side-effects and spare them 15 courses of treatment.

NHS England has today announced that, for the first time, eligible men with early prostate cancer will be offered pioneering therapy known as SABR (stereotactic ablative radiotherapy) which delivers radiotherapy to the tumour from many different directions to help reduce the risk of cancer spreading or returning, and has been proven to be effective at far fewer doses than conventional radiotherapy.

The cutting-edge technique will be made available within days and will significantly reduce the number of hospital visits required for treatment, enabling thousands of men to spend more time at work or at home with their loved ones.

SABR is typically delivered in 5 doses within a fortnight, compared to at least 20 doses with standard (external beam) radiotherapy, which can be a major burden for patients and loved ones, due to the substantial treatment and travel time.

It is expected that SABR for localised prostate cancer will be offered within weeks at all 48 radiotherapy providers across England.

The roll-out is being made possible following government investment in new linear accelerator machines across the country, and comes as part of a new NHS and government drive to transform cancer care in England.