Keighley and Ilkley MP Ann Cryer is pressuring health chiefs in Bradford to provide men diagnosed with prostate cancer with better information.

Nationally, 70 per cent of men with advanced prostate cancer do not receive a full choice of treatment options, including chemotherapy, despite being eligible and likely to benefit from the treatments, she said.

The ‘7 out of 10’ campaign aims to encourage all men with prostate cancer to know their treatment options and ensure patients receive better access to treatment. The campaign highlights the fact that, while some men may have been offered chemotherapy and turned it down, others are never given the option at all.

The Labour MP has now backed a Commons petition demanding more effective ways of treating patients suffering with late-stage prostate cancer.

She said: “Prostate cancer is not often given the attention it deserves. I am therefore writing to the local Primary Care Trust to ensure the systems are in place to assess patients at the right time and ensure they are being given the information to make the best choice for themselves.”

Latest figures available show the number of new diagnosis of prostate cancer across Bradford has almost doubled in eight years with 212 new cases diagnosed in the area in 2005 compared with 118 in 1997.

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in the UK, accounting for almost a quarter of male cancers. Each year it is estimated 10,000 men die from the disease.

Cases are rare in men aged under 50, but it becomes more common as they grow older.