Why the UK has slipped behind when it comes to cancer survival

Cancer survival rates in the UK are the highest they’ve ever been, according to a new report from Cancer Research UK (CRUK). But don’t celebrate just yet – when it comes to progress on cancer survival, the UK has slowed to its lowest rate in 50 years. In the 2000s, the increase in progress was around five times faster than it was during the 2010s.

“It’s worrying that the rate of improvement has slowed in recent years, and cancer patients today face anxious and historically long waits for tests and treatments,” said CRUK’s chief executive, Michelle Mitchell.

“Almost one in two people across the UK will get cancer in their lifetime. The number of new cases each year is growing. Beating cancer requires real political leadership and must be a priority for all political parties ahead of a general election.”

Looking at data from the Cancer in the UK report, the annual average increase in the likelihood of surviving cancer for 10 years or more hit an impressive 2.7 per cent in 2000-01; by 2018 this had fallen to 0.6 per cent. In other words: although it’s still getting better, the speed at which it’s getting better has dropped considerably.

Of course, like with any field in which progress relies on continual advances being made, there will be ebbs and flows. Perhaps what’s most concerning, though, is that the UK is languishing behind other comparable countries.

Cancer cases in the UK will jump by 37 per cent to almost 625,000 by 2050, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the WHO have predicted. It’s a staggering amount more than the average increase forecast for Europe of 22.5 per cent, and is higher than many of our close European neighbours.