We were delighted to work with Prostate Cancer UK on their Workforce Policy Report, Fortifying our frontline: improving care through a sustainable prostate cancer workforce in England, which highlights the challenges facing the prostate cancer workforce.
Efficient pathology processes and reporting are fundamental both for a timely prostate cancer diagnosis and to ensure the swift commencement of treatment. Developments and advancements in diagnostic practice are adding to increasing workloads. Examples of these advancements include increased numbers of biopsy samples per patient and the need to assess additional clinically significant features (e.g. cribriform architecture - a more aggressive growth pattern sometimes seen in prostate cancer).
This, coupled with an aging workforce who are also nearing or hitting retirement, are currently putting pressure on the pathology workforce. In 2025, the Royal College of Pathologists Workforce census found that 47% of pathologists were aged 50 and over and that 78% of pathologists did not believe current staffing levels were adequate to ensure long-term stability of pathology services and to meet growing demand.
Histopathology is central to the screening, diagnosis, grading, and treatment of prostate cancer. The rise in prostate biopsies, especially with the introduction and integration of emerging diagnostic tools such as pre-biopsy MRI, fusion targeted biopsies and molecular and genomic classification has increased the complexity and volume of cases that pathologists face. Implementing innovative diagnostic tools at scale also introduces workload and training demands on pathology departments.
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