The NHS exceeded its faster diagnosis cancer target for the first time in February amid record demand, according to new figures.  Thanks to the hard work of NHS staff, almost four fifths (78.1%) of people received a definitive cancer diagnosis or all clear within four weeks – with almost 200,000 (199,659) patients getting the answer […]

Almost one hundred thousand cancer patients have now benefitted from early access to the latest and most innovative treatments, thanks to the NHS Cancer Drugs Fund. The NHS is set to hit a major milestone in April with 100,000 cancer patients benefitting from faster access to more than 100 drugs (in over 250 indications) through the […]

Visits to the NHS website cancer page rose by 373% following the announcement that the Princess of Wales has been diagnosed with the disease. New figures from NHS England show that in the 24 hours after the princess revealed she was undergoing treatment last week, there were 2,840 visits to the page on cancer. That […]

A blood test which could help thousands of people receive earlier, more targeted, lung cancer treatments is being trialled by the NHS. The circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) test, which will be offered to 10,000 patients by next March, can identify genetic variants in a tumour through a simple blood sample. Patients that receive CT scan […]

The covid backlog fell for the fourth month in a row in January despite the longest period of industrial action in NHS history, new figures show today. New monthly data published today shows the waiting list continues to fall with January data showing it is down by 27,761 from the previous month (7.58 million in […]

The Minister of State for Health and Secondary Care has today made a written statement to Parliament regarding steps being taken by the NHS to ensure everyone eligible for the Very High Risk Breast Screening Programme has been referred to their local screening centre.   Steve Russell, NHS national director for vaccinations and screening, said: “The […]

The NHS will roll out a new immunotherapy that could offer women with advanced endometrial cancer significant extra time before their disease progresses, compared with standard chemotherapy alone. Trials have shown that adding dostarlimab (Jemperli) to chemotherapy can slow the spread of certain forms of endometrial cancer, giving patients the hope of more time to […]

Cancer patients living with a rare disease which attacks the body’s own organs following a life-saving stem cell transplant are set to benefit from a pioneering new medicine on the NHS. Belumosudil (Rezurock ®) is an innovative treatment for chronic graft versus host disease, which develops in around a third of patients who have undergone […]

An innovative test trialled by the NHS to help diagnose a condition which can lead to oesophageal cancer has reduced the need for invasive endoscopy in thousands of low-risk patients. The NHS pilot has tested over 8,500 patients with the capsule sponge test. Evaluation of a cohort of patients showed almost eight out of 10 […]

The NHS is offering routine preventative bowel cancer screening to thousands of people in England with a genetic condition that increases their chance of developing certain cancers. This is a world-first move by the health service to help reduce cases and identify bowel cancers earlier when successful treatment and cure is more likely. As part […]