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Known as Prostate Progress, the campaign is led by the charity Prostate Cancer Research and supported by the NHS DigiTrials recruitment service.

Prostate Progress hopes to improve the early detection, diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer while helping researchers better understand the long-term impact of the disease on patients’ lives.

Eligible men will receive letters and text messages over the coming months explaining how they can register to take part.

Participants will be asked to complete regular questionnaires about their experiences of living with prostate cancer, including the side effects of treatment and how the disease affects their quality of life. They will also be asked to allow researchers to link their responses with their NHS health records securely.

By combining personal experiences with clinical information, researchers hope to gain a much clearer understanding of how prostate cancer develops, why some cancers become more aggressive than others, and which treatments produce the best outcomes for different patients.

The information gathered during the Prostate Progress is expected to help shape future clinical trials, improve patient care and support the development of more effective tests and treatments.

One of the key priorities of the programme is increasing participation from Black men, who face around twice the risk of developing prostate cancer compared with other groups. Around one in four Black men in the UK is expected to be diagnosed with the disease during their lifetime.

Researchers believe that improving representation within the study will help uncover why these differences exist and lead to better diagnosis, treatment and outcomes for Black men while benefiting prostate cancer care for everyone.

Prostate cancer is now the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK, with around 60,000 new cases identified each year and more than 12,000 deaths annually.

Survival rates have improved significantly in recent decades thanks to advances in medical research and clinical trials. However, experts say there is still much to learn about the disease, particularly around identifying aggressive cancers earlier and reducing the long-term effects of treatment.

The government has also highlighted cancer research as a key priority within the National Cancer Plan for England, with a focus on expanding clinical trials and encouraging more patients to take part in research.

An initial pilot involving 5,000 participants has already shown the project’s potential, with volunteers sharing valuable insights into life after diagnosis and treatment.

Researchers hope the expansion to half a million participants will create an unprecedented research resource, allowing scientists to better connect NHS medical records with real-life patient experiences.

Prostate Progress aims to accelerate the development of new diagnostic tests, improve treatment options and ensure future generations of men receive more personalised and effective prostate cancer care.