The decision to deny prostate cancer screening to the vast majority of men was based on flawed modelling and should be overruled, charities say.
The UK National Screening Committee issued draft guidance in November saying the routine checks should only be offered in very limited circumstances.
But an independent review has uncovered concerns about the model used by the advisory panel to justify its recommendation to ministers.
Now charity Prostate Cancer Research is leading calls for the model to be rebuilt to enable a fairer assessment of the merits of screening before a final decision is made.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, with 63,000 cases and 12,000 deaths each year - but unlike breast, bowel and lung cancer, there is currently no national screening programme.
The Daily Mail is campaigning to end needless prostate cancer deaths and for a national prostate cancer screening programme, initially targeted at high risk men, such as those who are black, have a family history of the disease or particular genetic mutations.
For now, the UKNSC has put forward only a recommendation to screen men with BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations every two years, between the ages of 45 and 61.
It would not recommend population screening using the prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test because it may result in too many men undergoing unnecessary biopsies or surgery for tumours that would never have caused them harm in their lifetime.
Oliver Kemp, chief executive of Prostate Cancer Research, said the screening committee should reconsider its decision
But the new review by York Health Economics Consortium found the model relied on outdated data, diagnosis methods and treatments; failed to account for the impact of a coordinated screening programme on the UK's existing testing landscape; and did not address serious population health inequalities.
Analysis of contemporary MRI-led screening studies suggests that the model cited by the UKNHS may have substantially overstated the harms up seven-fold.
Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, comedian Stephen Fry and football world cup winner Geoff Hurst have all called for a national prostate cancer screening programme.
Health secretary Wes Streeting has the authority to overrule the UKNSC, which is due to publish its final recommendation in March.
Oliver Kemp, chief executive of Prostate Cancer Research, which commissioned the review, said: 'Prostate Cancer Research is deeply concerned by the narrowness of the draft recommendations, which fail to tackle the harms inherent in the current system and leave men of Black ethnicity and those with relevant family history continuing to rely on current routes for testing.
'We are not arguing that screening is without risk, nor do we dispute the findings of historic trials that evaluated earlier forms of screening.
'Our concern is that the current model overly relies on these historic data and in doing so does not sufficiently reflect how prostate cancer is diagnosed, managed, and treated in the NHS today.
'When contemporary MRI-led pathways and real-world NHS data are considered, projected harms appear substantially lower.
'Given that this decision will shape prostate cancer early detection policy across the four UK nations for years to come, it is essential that the modelling framework reflects modern clinical practice and current health inequalities before any final recommendation is made.
'We strongly believe the review on this critical issue should be extended to allow time for amendments to the economic model to be made and fully tested.
'This crucial decision should not be based on a version of screening from decades ago.'
PRC is supported in its calls for the modelling to be rerun by over a dozen other charities and health groups, including the Black Prostate Cancer Network, the British Association of Urological Nurses, Prost8 UK and the Bob Willis Fund.
