Comment EDITOR’S COMMENTwith LOUISE FRAMPTON THE CLINICAL SERVICES JOURNAL Editor


Louise Frampton louiseframpton@stepcomms.com


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STEP COMMUNICATIONS ISSN No. 1478-5641


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Hopes for better cancer outcomes


As I wrote my column for this latest edition, World Cancer Day was raising awareness of the need to make progress in cancer prevention, screening, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and care – across the globe. This year’s theme, ‘United by Unique’, highlighted the fact that people have unique stories, needs, perspectives and situations that need to be taken into consideration when shaping care and health systems. The campaign called for people-centred care, with a holistic approach that considers the emotional, psychological, and social aspects of cancer, alongside the medical treatment. It emphasised that, “It will take all of us, united, to create a world where we look beyond the disease and see the person before the patient.” Cancer will touch the lives of most people – whether it is through the diagnosis of a loved one,


or through a diagnosis for themselves. It is a condition that will affect 1 in 2 of us. This year, World Cancer Day felt especially poignant, having just lost a beloved family member to cancer in recent months. There were many missed opportunities to diagnose their cancer earlier. This followed the loss of a best friend to cancer, who also visited their GP with symptoms for two years, before being admitted to A&E. Sadly, in both cases, a diagnosis came too late, leaving behind a legacy of anguish for mothers, children, sisters, brothers, grandchildren, partners and friends, who will always wonder: ‘what if?’ We know that cancer mortality rates in the UK are much higher than in other, comparable countries. Early diagnosis rates were flat for nearly a decade, beginning in 2013, and have only recently started to increase. We really must do better – with increased investment in staff, technology and research. To drive this ambition forward, the UK government has unveiled its ambitious National Cancer Plan. By March 2029, it aims to ensure that 80% of patients will get a diagnosis or all-clear within 28 days of an urgent suspected cancer referral. It also promises that every patient will get a Personalised Cancer Plan that “looks beyond just treatment and diagnosis to cover the full impact of cancer on their life” - from anxiety and fatigue, to diet and returning to work. In this issue, we provide an overview of some of the key pledges. These include: l The delivery of 9.5 million additional diagnostic tests. l Expansion of the community diagnostic estate. l Implementation of a new maximum time frame of 10 days from request to report for 98% of histopathology tests, on every cancer pathway. l Extension of ctDNA and other biomarking testing.


Ultimately, the government’s ambition of achieving 75% of cancer patients surviving five years will depend on earlier diagnosis – as well as timely treatment. It will require high-quality imaging and radiotherapy services, supported by the safe, evidence-based and regulated deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Plan states that “innovative technology will be harnessed to triage patients to make better use of diagnostic capacity” and this is to be welcomed. Dr. Nicky Thorp, from the Royal College of Radiologists, points out, we must train up more


radiologists and cancer doctors, or else “plans to increase scanning capacity, expand screening and spot cancer earlier, risk exacerbating backlogs and delays.” Sarah Woolnough, from The King’s Fund, points out that “many hospitals still cannot share imaging or pathology results in a timely way, due to old technology holding them back.” Addressing this needs to receive as much focus as rolling out major new AI projects, she argues. All of these plans will require significant investment, and the question on everyone’s lips is: will this bold ambition be matched by the funds to deliver it? We will watch this space and hope - as lives will depend on it...


louiseframpton@stepcomms.com Get in touch and give us your views, email me:


March 2026 I www.clinicalservicesjournal.com 5


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