Cancer Research UK has today set out an ambitious cancer plan, which it says would help to avoid 20,000 cancer deaths a year by 2040.
Longer, better lives: a manifesto for cancer research and care comprises five core missions to speed up progress in preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer.
It is published after the charity warned that with NHS cancer services in crisis and half a million cancer cases a year projected by 2040, the progress of cancer survival doubling in the past 50 years is in danger of stalling.
The UK lags behind comparable countries when it comes to cancer survival and now the charity has recommended the establishment of a nationwide movement on cancer, spearheaded by a National Cancer Council that would be accountable to the Prime Minster, which would bring together government, the life sciences sector, charities and scientific experts.
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “Cancer is the defining health issue of our time. Avoiding thousands of cancer deaths is possible, but it will take leadership, political will, investment and reform.
“The impact of cancer is immense. We estimate that half a million people – friends, colleagues and loved ones – will be diagnosed with the disease every year by 2040. Their lives are at stake if we don’t act now.
“The Manifesto for Cancer Research and Care is our comprehensive plan to ensure more people can live their lives free from the fear of cancer. We urge all political leaders to unite behind this vital mission.”
Its five ‘missions’ for the Government to follow to reduce cancer mortality are: rebuilding the UK’s global position in biomedical research to close the more than £1 billion funding gap for research into cancer over the next decade. This should be agreed within the first 100 days of the next general election.
It also called for the government to urgently progress laws to increase the age of sale of tobacco products. Within a year of the general election, it should fund a programme of measures to help people who smoke to quit, which could help to achieve a Smokefree England by 2030, preventing about 18,200 cancer cases in the country by 2040.
Cancer Research UK said the government should transform and optimise cancer screening programmes and accelerate the roll-out of the lung cancer screening programme in England. Almost half of cancers are diagnosed at a late stage, and about one in five patients are diagnosed via emergency routes.
Its fourth mission is calling for tests, treatments and innovations to be introduced more quickly because patients have to wait far too long. It said a ten year cancer-specific workforce plan should be published to address the chronic staff shortages in cancer services. The UK Government should eliminate the £10.2 billion NHS maintenance deficit by 2030 and commit to rolling ringfenced capital investment for cancer.
The charity also called for the establishment of a National Cancer Council for England, to drive cross-government action on cancer and deliver a 10-year cancer strategy for England. It said the current system is fragmented, with at least five government departments and multiple agencies responsible for cancer research and care in England.
Professor Ketan Patel, chief scientist of Cancer Research UK, said: “The UK has achieved incredible breakthroughs in cancer, and we have massive potential to transform cancer care through research into new technologies like AI. But we can only improve cancer care if we invest in research and streamline how we set up and run clinical trials.
“Cancer research is not a ‘nice to have’, it is vital. We need to back cancer research and vastly strengthen our ability to quickly translate research into improvements for patients and their families, improve productivity and strengthen the economy.”
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