A damning report underscores that the UK loses thousands of lives needlessly to cancer because survival rates lag behind those of similar nations.Despite significant strides in cancer treatment over the past 50 years, the study by Cancer Research UK underscores that slow and belated diagnoses, coupled with treatment delays, pose a substantial risk of impeding progress.
According to league tables compiled by international researchers and referenced by the charity, the UK exhibits the poorest survival rates in five out of seven cancer forms when compared to Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, Ireland, and New Zealand. Cancer Research UK contends that adopting a bold new plan for cancer could potentially avert around 20,000 deaths annually in the UK by 2040, emphasizing the need for the establishment of a national cancer council accountable to the prime minister.
The charity’s report advocates for accelerated efforts to expedite diagnoses, ensure prompt treatment, and recruit an additional 16,000 full-time cancer staff by 2029. Despite the NHS setting a target to diagnose 75% of cancers at stages 1 or 2 by 2028, Cancer Research UK warns that the health service is likely to miss this objective.
“Fixable problem,”
Characterizing cancer as a “fixable problem,” the report draws attention to the widening gap between the UK and Denmark. Three decades ago, both countries were improving cancer outcomes at a similar rate, but Denmark has surged ahead due to consistent funding and long-term cancer strategies. The report emphasizes that cancer waiting times are consistently unmet across the UK, causing distress for patients and their families during the critical period before diagnosis and treatment.
The call for action extends to addressing the stark inequalities in cancer incidence and mortality, with over 33,000 cases each year in the United Kingdom attributed to deprivation. During a briefing, Prof Sir Mike Richards, formerly the national cancer director at the Department of Health and now advising NHS England, pointed out that substantial work is needed to enhance survival rates. Emphasizing the magnitude of the late-stage diagnosis problem, he underscored that stages 3 and 4, which carry a poorer prognosis compared to stages 1 and 2, diagnose almost half of all cancer patients. Meeting the government’s target of 75% early-stage diagnoses by 2028 requires improvements in screening programs, diagnosis of symptomatic patients, and reducing treatment inequalities, according to Richards.