The NHS will review whether to change its advice on prostate cancer testing in light of Sir Chris Hoy’s “strong” call for more younger men to be screened, the health secretary has said.

Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris, 48, has advanced cancer which has spread to his bones and is terminal.

In his first TV interview since announcing his condition, Sir Chris told BBC Breakfast that people with a strong family history should consider seeing their GP for a blood test for PSA (prostate specific antigen ) to help detect the disease.

PSA tests are not routinely offered to men under 50 who are asymptomatic but may be at risk. Instead, doctors are told to use their judgment.

Sir Chris told BBC Breakfast: “I think it’s a no-brainer. Why wouldn’t they reduce the age? Lower the age and allow more men to come in and have a blood test.”

NHS guidelines for England say that anyone can request a PSA test if they are over 50.

And men of any age who have symptoms can ask for one.

But routine PSA testing or screening is not offered by the NHS because experts say the test is not accurate enough to rule out cancer reliably. Doctors are looking at whether adding MRI scans to PSA tests could improve the situation.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC that Sir Chris was making a strong case. “That’s why we’ve asked the NHS to look at the case for lowering the age.”

“Obviously, it needs to be evidence-driven, clinically-driven decisions,” he said.

The charity Prostate Cancer UK is backing the call, saying more checks could save thousands of lives every year.

Spokeswoman Chiara De Biase said: ‘One in eight men will develop prostate cancer, but there is currently no screening program for the disease.

“If your father or brother has had prostate cancer or you are black, you are at the highest risk of getting the disease and we strongly recommend that you talk to your GP about testing at 45.

“At this point, you need to be aware of this and talk to a GP yourself. Because prostate cancer often has no symptoms in its early stages, this leads to a late, incurable diagnosis for too many men – like Sir Chris.”

Sir Chris spoke of the “absolute shock and horror” he felt at his initial diagnosis.

The news that he had a terminal illness in September 2023 came “completely out of the blue”.

“No symptoms, no warnings, nothing. All I had was a pain in my shoulder and a little pain in my ribs.”

And he spoke of the “nightmare” of finding out wife Sarra had multiple sclerosis and having to break the news to their two young children.

“We just tried to be positive and tried to say, ‘You know what? That’s what we do and you can help, because when I’m not feeling well, you can come and hug me, you can support me’, you can be happy, you can be good to each other’.

He said he’s grateful for the outpouring of support they’ve received and is focusing on the positives and the good he hopes can come from it.

His news urged an almost eightfold increase in NHS searches for prostate cancer symptoms in the following days.

“It’s been the hardest year of our lives so far,” he told the BBC.

“Maybe people seeing this or hearing about my story – just through their GP asking – will create enough interest that the people making the decisions will say ‘you know what, we’ve got to fix this.’ And in the long term this term will potentially save millions of lives.”

He added: “I know what the end result will be. Nobody lives forever. Our time on this planet is finite. Don’t waste your time worrying about things that aren’t that important. Focus on the things that are.

“My outlook on life has changed massively. I’m more grateful, I’m more grateful for each day. It’s been a tough year and it’s going to be tough going forward, but for now, right here, right now, we’re doing pretty well.”

The NHS advises men to talk to a doctor if they think they are at higher risk of prostate cancer. A man’s risk of developing this cancer increases with age.

Cancer Research UK says that the evidence so far suggests that people using PSA are routinely screened it would not do much to prevent deaths and could instead lead to unnecessary treatment for men, which could cause undue stress and potential side effects.

PSA is not diagnostic. An elevated PSA level does not necessarily mean that cancer is present. It can also be elevated with other conditions, such as inflammation.

The full interview – Sir Chris Hoy: Finding Hope – will be broadcast on BBC One at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday 5 November and will then be available to watch on BBC iPlayer. You can also listen in full BBC sounds.