23.09.14
Nearly half of cancer sufferers are diagnosed too late – Cancer Research UK
Nearly half of all people who get cancer are diagnosed too late, which makes treatment less likely to succeed and more expensive, a new report commissioned by Cancer Research UK reveals.
The report, produced by Incisive Health, shows that 46% of cancers in England are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Britain has one of the worst records in Europe for both identification of cancer and survival from it.
In 2012 in the UK, 331,487 people were diagnosed with cancer and about 162,000 people died.
If all localities diagnosed cancers as early as the best CCGs in England, for four types of cancer alone (rectal, lung, colon and ovarian), this could save the NHS over £44m in treatment costs and benefit over 11,000 patients each year. If this was applied to all types of cancer there would be an annual saving of nearly £210m, while helping to improve the survival prospects for more than 52,000 patients.
The report estimates the cost of treating late stage colon, rectal, lung and ovarian cancer is nearly two and a half times the amount for early stage treatment. Treating colon cancer at its earliest stage costs £3,373 compared to £12,519 when treated at its latest stage. For ovarian cancer the cost rises from £5,328 to £15,081.
It goes on to call for a reaffirmed commitment to delivering early diagnosis of cancer from the Department of Health, Public Health England and NHS England, saying early diagnosis should be viewed as an efficiency as well as a quality priority for the NHS.
Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: “This report shows yet again why we must do more to ensure patients begin treatment as early as possible, so that we improve cancer survival in this country. It provides a compelling case for substantial investment in efforts to achieve earlier diagnosis. Not to invest in earlier diagnosis is to fail cancer patients.
“Earlier diagnosis saves lives and it could save critical NHS funds – and in the face of an overstretched NHS and a projected growing number of cancers diagnosed in the years ahead, we need to do everything we can to ensure that all patients have access to the best treatment as early as possible.”
A Department of Health spokesperson said it had invested £450m to improve earlier diagnosis, including giving GPs better access to tests such as MRI and CT scans.
“Cancer survival rates continue to improve but we want to be the best country in Europe for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Last year GPs referred nearly half a million more patients to see a cancer specialist than 2010 and we did a record 1.5 million diagnostic tests.”
Dr Sean Duffy, NHS England's national clinical director for cancer, said: “We are working closely with Cancer Research UK to support the NHS to improve outcomes for patients through earlier stage diagnosis.
“The NHS is successfully seeing 50% more patients than four years ago and survival rates have never been higher. Almost nine out of 10 patients say their care is excellent or very good.”
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