UK cancer outcomes ‘lag behind’ those of countries with clear plan, say experts

By Ella Pickover, Reporter21st August 2024News EnglandCancer, News England, NHS, Palliative Care

UK cancer outcomes “lag behind” those of countries with dedicated plans to tackle the burden of the disease, experts have said.

A new cancer plan should be a “key priority” for the Government, academics said as they warned that without dedicated policies “more patients with cancer will undoubtedly die”.

In a new commentary piece, published in the journal Lancet Oncology, experts argue that cancer waiting lists in the UK are “still the worst they have ever been”.

The latest figures for the NHS in England show that some 76.3% of patients in England urgently referred for suspected cancer in June were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days – above the target of 75%.

But it is only the fourth time the target has been exceeded since it was introduced in autumn 2021.

The proportion of patients in England waiting no longer than 62 days in June from an urgent suspected cancer referral or consultant upgrade to their first definitive treatment for cancer was 67.4%, up from 65.8% in May.

The target is 85%.

The commentary piece suggests this means “over one in three people waiting more than 62 days for their vital cancer treatment, meaning that there is an increased risk of dying unnecessarily of this disease”.

The authors said that without a dedicated cancer plan the situation “will worsen”.

“Cancer care should be firmly placed back at the top of the political agenda; doing this would save thousands of people’s lives a year,” the group of cancer doctors wrote.

They point to work by the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership, which highlights how “consistency of cancer policy is directly associated with improved outcomes” and a score card created by the organisation “clearly shows that the UK lags far behind other nations worldwide in relation to consistency of cancer policy”.

“The UK also lags behind other countries that have consistent cancer plans (e.g. Denmark, France, and Norway),” they added.

Meanwhile, the authors highlighted how the UK is at “risk of losing its global cancer research reputation” as they called for research to be embedded within the plan.

Lead author Mark Lawler (pictured), chairman of the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership, said: “We’re at a critical moment for cancer care in the UK.

“Will we stand by as cancer outcomes continue to decline and patients die who could have been saved, or will we take decisive steps to fix this crisis? It is utterly incomprehensible that a country like ours does not have a dedicated cancer plan.

“The current Government may have inherited this problem from the last one, but it’s like being handed a ticking time bomb.

“Our research shows that countries with dedicated cancer plans and consistently implemented policies achieve better survival rates.

“If there was ever a time to act and ensure the UK leads in cancer care rather than lagging behind, it is now.”

Co-author Professor Pat Price, founder of Catch Up With Cancer, said: “The Government has acknowledged that the NHS is broken and is reviewing the necessary actions.

“Whatever action they take, a new cancer plan to get us out of this mess must be at the top of the agenda.

“We’re at the bottom of the cancer league tables, and delays to cancer care remain alarmingly high.”

Prof Price told Sky News: “Cancer is very complex and without such a plan you get disparities, you get wasting of money and, ultimately, patients die.

“We’re in a really bad situation. We can reverse it, and the new administration need to work with us.”

She added: “It slipped away from the top priority. One in two people get cancer if we don’t do these things, thousands more patients will die completely unnecessarily.”

Commenting, Kate Seymour, head of advocacy at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “All too often we hear from people who are facing devastating delays to their cancer treatment and are left feeling confused and anxious with a maze of different health departments to navigate.

“There are over three million people living with cancer in the UK but for far too many people the experience of cancer is getting worse.

“The UK has the potential to be world-leading in how it cares for and treats people living with cancer. To make this a reality, it is imperative that all governments in the UK prioritise funded long-term cross-government approaches to revolutionise cancer care and ensure everyone has access to quality and timely treatment and support, every step of the way.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We have inherited a broken NHS. Too many cancer patients are waiting too long for treatment, and we are determined to change that.

“As part of our mission to get the NHS back on its feet, we will improve cancer survival rates by hitting all cancer waiting time targets within five years, and double the number of MRI and CT scanners so no patient waits longer than they should.

“We have also commissioned Lord Darzi to establish the state of the nation’s health service and his findings will inform our 10-year plan to radically reform the NHS.”