The Future of UK Cancer – time for a radical and sustainable National Cancer Plan

Cancer affects 1 in 2 people in the UK and incidence is set to increase. The UK NHS is facing major workforce deficits and cancer services have struggled to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic, with waiting times for cancer care being the worst on record. There are significant and widening disparities across the country and survival rates remain unacceptably poor for many cancers. This is at a time when cancer care has become increasingly complex, specialised, and expensive. The current crisis has deep historic roots and to be reversed, the scale of the challenge has to be acknowledged and a fundamental re-set is needed. The loss of a dedicated National Cancer Control Plan in England & Wales, poor operationalisation of plans elsewhere in the UK and the closure of the National Cancer Research Institute have all added to a sense of strategic misdirection. The UK finds itself at a crossroads, where the political decisions of governments, the cancer community and research funders will determine whether we can, together, achieve equitable, affordable and high-quality cancer care for patients to improve our outcomes to amongst the best in the world. In this policy analysis we describe the challenges and opportunities that are needed to develop radical, yet sustainable, plans which are comprehensive, evidence based, integrated, patient focused, and affordable.