A leading group of oncology experts have outlined how the NHS can improve cancer care by addressing a series of time-critical problems.
These issues include:
- shifting demographics;
- significant treatment delays;
- unbalanced survival rates; and
- a lack of patient follow-up after care.
Recent analysis from Macmillan Cancer Support suggested that the UK is decades behind some of its European counterparts, citing how some survival rates in this country have only just matched ones that were achieved in parts of Scandinavia in the 1990s.
The experts, which published their review in The Lancet Oncology, have outlined several solutions that a new national cancer control plan would need to address.
The entrenched social inequalities in cancer access and outcomes could be tackled through an NHS task force for social and commercial determinants to inform policy solutions.
Meanwhile, the variation observed in the quality of cancer care could be addressed by expanding national audits across the UK and researching how they can drive change.
Investment in the cancer workforce has to backup technology adoption too, according to the research team.
The cancer research agenda needs fine tuning as well, specifically to avoid an over-focus on biopharmaceutical research and instead promote a renewed consideration of things like surgery, radiotherapy and palliative care.
“We need to go well beyond new equipment, drugs, and other cancer technologies to deliver solutions to the substantial societal and system pressure points,” according to author Professor Ajay Aggarwal of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Professor Richard Sullivan, another author of the report who is based at the Institute of Cancer Policy at King’s College London, said: “A new national cancer control plan will need to take a whole-system approach integrating solutions for critical areas such as workforce, service quality, and societal equity.”
Imperial College London’s Professor Pat Price, co-author, added: “Cancer is a complex disease. But the starting point to tackling our poor survival outcomes is simple: get a plan. Reverse the decision made by the last Government to scrap the national cancer control plan.”
Prof Price, who is founder at Catch Up With Cancer and chair at Radiotherapy UK, concluded: “All the international evidence shows that countries with national cancer plans have better survival. And make sure the plan is properly resourced and ensures we treat on time as well as diagnose early.”
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