According to a new audit of the healthcare system, only about half of those suffering from Prostate cancer get the best treatment in the UK.

Activists said that the treatment and quality-of-life care different in different parts of the country. The audit was the first of its kind of prostate cancer services across England and Wales. Owen Sharp, chief executive of Prostate Cancer UK has said that the treatment must improve immediately for the people.

The National Prostate Cancer Audit said in its report on Monday that four out of five hospitals in England offered the most advanced radiotherapy and only half provided the support services that may be required by patients to manage the side effects. The disease affects around 40,000 men each year and results in 10,000 deaths. The purpose of the audit will be to determine if NHS services meet recommended standards.

"Although there have been some improvements in access to the more sophisticated diagnosis and treatment techniques, the audit reveals a worryingly vast variation in availability of these options and that around half of men with prostate cancer do not receive all the support services they should," Sharp said.