Background
This ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on prostate health. The ad was identified for investigation following intelligence gathered by our Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses AI to proactively search for online ads that might break the rules. See also related rulings published on 10 December 2025.
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
Two paid-for Google search ads for SELFCHECK, a medical device company offering at home PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) testing kits, seen on 24 July 2025.
a. The first ad contained the title “Get A Prostate Test Today – Prostate Cancer Home Test Kits” and the text “Order a prostate health test today. Simple + reliable. Results in 10 minutes at home [sic] Convenient 10 minute home test to check your PSA levels.
b. The second ad contained the title “Prostate Home Test Kit – Simple, 10 Minutes Home Test” and the text “1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer. The PSA test can help identify if you are at risk [sic] A simple, reliable way to check”.
Issue
The ASA challenged whether the ads:
- misleadingly implied the tests could diagnose cancer and failed to make their limitations clear; and
- discouraged essential treatment for a condition for which medical supervision should be sought.
Response
1. JR Biomedical Ltd t/a SELFCHECK said their products were CE certified for self testing, in line with UK legislation as per the In-Vitro Diagnostics Directive.
They said the use of the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test as a biomarker for prostate cancer was controversial amongst opinion leaders and national health providers. PSA was not considered 100% accurate for diagnosing prostate cancer, as other conditions such as a urine infection and prostatitis could also cause raised levels. However, the balance of opinion in favour of PSA testing was gaining momentum, as further diagnostic tests such as MRIs became more widely available. They said a raised level of PSA would require further investigation by a clinician to identify the cause.
They provided a link to the Prostate Cancer UK website and a page regarding a campaign for screening, which advocated PSA testing for men. They highlighted that it said, “Every man needs to know his risk right now, so he can make a choice about whether to have a simple PSA blood test to check for early warning signs of prostate cancer”.
They also referenced a booklet from Prostate Cancer UK which stated the PSA test could diagnose prostate problems, including prostate cancer. The booklet stated that the PSA test was a blood test that measured the amount of PSA and described it as the first step in finding out if there was a problem with the prostate and if more tests were required. The literature also contained the statistic that one in eight men would be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.
They also provided screenshots of Prostate Cancer UK’s risk checker tool. The checker described the PSA test as a test available from the GP for prostate cancer which could show if there was anything wrong with the prostate. It said a high PSA level could indicate cancer, but that PSA could also be raised due to other reasons, such as having an enlarged prostate, an infection, exercise, or ejaculation, and that more tests would be needed, such as an MRI scan, to diagnose cancer. The risk checker further said the PSA test sometimes missed prostate cancer and that one in seven men with a normal PSA level may have prostate cancer.
They said ad (a) clearly stated that the test was to check PSA levels, and that ad (b) stated the PSA test could “help” identify if consumers were at risk, which they believed aligned with the material available from Prostate Cancer UK.
On the claim “Prostate Home Test Kit – Simple, 10 Minutes Home Test” in ad (b), they said the test was a prostate home test kit and has been designed to be simple to use at home with a result in 10 minutes.
They also said that ad (b) did not reference cancer, and that the “one in eigh” claim was taken from the Prostate Cancer UK booklet.
“A simple reliable way to check” was truncated by Google responsive ads. SELFCHECK stated that Google’s responsive search ads could generate thousands of permutations from the headlines and descriptions they provided. They said the specific combination shown to a search user depended on factors outside the advertiser’s control, including search history, demographics, location and IP address. They said that Google’s AI sought to optimise combinations to drive clicks based on calculated intent, meaning any specific ad combination observed could be influenced by a user’s prior searches, search terms and post-click behaviour. They accepted that this could lead to variations with potentially misleading claims, but it was not possible for them to approve each individual ad. They said the actual statement in their ad copy was “A simple and reliable way to check for raised levels of PSA at home in minutes”. Claims relating to reliability were a reference to their testing kits providing reliable PSA results, which were equivalent in their reliability to laboratory testing.
2. SELFCHECK said their aim had been to encourage users to seek medical advice for a diagnosis by a doctor. They said the kit did not claim to diagnose cancer, and that the packaging of the test clearly stated that the test was for screening, in contrast to diagnosis, and stated “A raised PSA level may be a sign of prostate cancer but is more likely to be a sign of another condition that is not cancer, such as an enlarged prostate, prostatitis, or a urine infection” and “If you have a positive result speak with your doctor who can review your symptoms and arrange for further tests to find out why your PSA level is raised”. They also said the kit contained a leaflet that advised users to contact a doctor if they had raised PSA levels.
The landing page for the ads contained a “before you test” section, which included benefits and limitations, including that PSA tests were not 100% accurate for diagnosing cancer; they could miss some prostate cancers, give a false sense of security and cause unnecessary anxiety, especially in instances where further tests would go on to rule out cancer. The limitations section also stated that the test could not distinguish between slow-growing cancers that may never cause harm and aggressive cancers that needed immediate treatment. They may identify a slow-growing cancer that would not cause issues, potentially leading to unnecessary treatment. The landing page also stated “You may be anxious about testing but remember, a PSA test is just a tool to give you information, not a final diagnosis.”
SELFCHECK said that their website stated, “Our tests are based on the same principles used by hospital labs, and provide reliable, meaningful results, but self-testing is not meant to replace established NHS healthcare pathways. Always consider what a positive or negative result will mean to you before testing, and be aware of the limitations of the test you are using. If you have symptoms that concern you, always speak with your pharmacist or doctor”.
They further said that every product page contained a disclaimer that informed consumers that because the tests were not 100% at diagnosing a specific medical condition, they may wish to speak to their NHS GP first, who could arrange a test if needed.
They also said that they had removed the word “cancer” in the headings and descriptions of the Google ads for the product.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The ASA considered that consumers would understand the claim in ad (a) “Prostate Cancer Home Test Kits”, to mean the tests could diagnose prostate cancer. Ad (a) further claimed that the test was “Simple + reliable”. We acknowledged SELFCHECK's comment that the reference to reliability was intended to mean to efficacy of the test, however we considered consumers would understand that to mean the tests were reliable in diagnosing health problems relating to the prostate, including cancer.
Ad (b) also contained the claim “Prostate Home Test Kit”, and provided a statistic regarding prostate cancer. We considered that consumers would have understood from the ad that the test could diagnose prostate cancer. We further considered the claim “The PSA test can help identify if you are at risk [sic] A simple, reliable way to check”, in the context of the statistic regarding prostate cancer, suggested that the test was a reliable method to diagnose prostate cancer.
The ads were generated by Google responsive search ads and SELFCHECK therefore had not reviewed their content. However, we understood responsive search ads was an optional feature for advertisers, and it remained the responsibility of the advertiser to ensure their ads complied with the Code.
We acknowledged the references made by SELFCHECK to information from Prostate Cancer UK about the PSA tests. However, we noted further information from Prostate Cancer UK, regarding the pros and cons of private PSA self-test kits for prostate cancer when sold by online and high-street pharmacies. Material on the Prostate Cancer UK website said the PSA blood test was not a test for prostate cancer, or general prostate health, and the test could help spot potential problems with the prostate, but by itself, a PSA blood test could not diagnose or rule out prostate cancer. Prostate Cancer UK’s website described the test as the first step in the pathway for diagnosing prostate cancer, which would require further tests.
We sought advice from the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). They said an over-the-counter PSA test was not an indicator to confirm prostate cancer. They said PSA tests marketed for home use must not claim to confirm the diagnosis of prostate cancer, as elevated PSA levels alone were not a definitive indicator of the disease.
Further, the MHRA said ‘screening’ referred to identifying a population who may have an increased risk of a particular condition. A ‘screen positive’ result was not a confirmatory diagnostic result and further tests are required to confirm a cancer diagnosis. A healthcare professional must be consulted to confirm clinical diagnosis following use of the test.
We noted the “before you test” section of the SELFCHECK website contained information regarding the limitations of the PSA test and stated that the test was a tool and not a final diagnosis. The website acknowledged that the test was not 100% accurate for diagnosing cancer, and highlighted the limitations of the test to diagnose what specific prostate related variable could cause a high PSA level. While that information was provided on the landing page, consumers would click through to that page from the ads under the misleading impression that SELFCHECK’s at home PSA test was a reliable method to diagnose prostate cancer and other prostate problems. The information on the landing page therefore misled because it contradicted rather than clarified the impression created by the ads.
The ASA concluded both ads (a) and (b) misleadingly implied that the at home PSA test could diagnose prostate cancer and other prostate problems, and failed to make the limitations of the test clear.
On that point, the ads breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Qualification), and 12.1 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
2. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketers must not discourage essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought. For example, they must not offer specific advice on, diagnosis of, or treatment for such conditions, unless that advice, diagnosis or treatment was conducted under the supervision of a suitably qualified medical professional.
We considered consumers would interpret the ads as offering an alternative to seeking advice or diagnosis of prostate problems, including cancer, from a medical professional. Prostate problems, including prostate cancer, were conditions for which medical supervision should be sought; the MHRA had noted that a healthcare professional must be consulted to confirm a clinical diagnosis following use of the test. However, SELFCHECK did not supply evidence that showed the test was conducted under the supervision of a suitably qualified medical professional.
The ASA welcomed SELFCHECK’s decision to remove the word “Cancer” from their prostate testing kit advertising. However, we concluded that the ads discouraged essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought, and therefore breached the Code.
On that point, the ads breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 12.2 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
Action
The ads must not appear again in the form investigated. We told JR Biomedical t/a SELFCHECK to ensure they did not make claims that stated or implied their at home PSA tests could make an accurate or definitive medical diagnosis of prostate problems, including prostate cancer. We also told them not to make claims that discouraged essential treatment for which medical supervision should be sought.
