The proportion of patients who have been diagnosed with cancer at an early stage in England is at its highest ever level, according to NHS England.
Nearly three in five (58.7%) common cancers diagnosed between September 2023 and August 2024 were identified at stage one or two, according to data on 13 of the most common cancers. These include breast, prostate and lung cancers.
This is an improvement of 2.7 percentage points on pre-pandemic levels, which is around 7,000 patients.
It added that over three million people were seen for urgent cancer checks over the past year from November 2023 to October 2024, which is an increase of 100,000 from the same period the year before, and up by 700,000 from five years ago.
NHS England referenced several initiatives that had contributed to catching cancers earlier, including lung health checks, liver health programmes, and awareness campaigns.
Dr Bea Bakshi, co-founder of early cancer diagnosis AI tool, C the Signs, said the statistics marked a ‘transformative moment’ in improving outcomes for patients.
‘Innovations in primary and community care play a vital role in this progress, as 90% of all NHS interactions occur in these settings,’ she added. ‘These touchpoints provide an unparalleled opportunity to quickly identify patients at risk and intervene at the earliest stages.’
She added that through the use of AI, C the Signs has helped to detect over 50 cancer types in 30,000 patients.
‘To truly transform outcomes, scaling initiatives like those referenced in this announcement, alongside innovations across primary and community care, will be critical. Together, we can ensure that every patient benefits from earlier detection and the best possible chance of survival,’ she said.
Dr Caroline Taylor, GP and chair of NAPC added that the early diagnosis rates were ‘excellent news’.
‘In general practice we provide the continuity of care for many patients from diagnosis through to the often invasive treatment needed to eradicate cancer and it is extremely pleasing to see that more people than ever are being diagnosed at an earlier stage and that more lives are being saved as a result,’ she said.
Dame Cally Palmer, national cancer director for NHS England, said: ‘Lives are saved when cancers are caught early – and following a major drive on early detection in recent years, it’s really encouraging to see more people than ever are now being diagnosed at an earlier stage.
‘There is still much more to do to save more lives and we will not let up in our efforts to catch more cancers earlier, where treatment is more likely to be successful.
‘NHS teams across the country are continuing to take tests and checks closer to people who need them, and with new treatments being made available all the time, we will continue to do all we can to get people seen and treated for cancer as early as possible.’
A version of this article was first published by our sister title Pulse PCN
