Earlier diagnosis, better take-up of new treatments and better targeting of those at risk are necessary to improve cancer survival rates and cut the long-term cost of treatment, according to a new study.

The report The Cost of Cancer, published by think tank Policy Exchange, estimates the total cost of cancer care in England to be £18.33 billion annually, and predicts this will rise to £24.72 billion over the next ten years.

The Policy Exchange study is the first to consider not only direct healthcare costs, but also costs to patients and their families and employers.

The UK's cancer mortality rate is 6% higher than the European average, the report notes, and there has been no progress in closing this gap. UK spending on cancer medicines is only about 60% of that recorded in other advanced European countries.

If survival rates in England were commensurate with the best in Europe, the report argues, the cost savings would be huge: by 2020, a cumulative saving could be made of £10 billion - and 71,500 lives could be saved.

Henry Featherstone, head of Policy Exchange's Health Unit and author of the report, said: "Cancer kills over one in four people in England, and is seen by the public as being the top disease priority for the NHS. Over the next ten years, tens of thousands of lives could be saved by improving cancer care to levels on a par with the best European countries.

"With cross-programme action on earlier diagnosis and better targeting of resources towards older people and communities who are most at risk, we could make significant reductions in mortality rates, saving not only billions of pounds but also the upset and suffering caused to thousands of individuals and families."

The report identifies late diagnosis, poor survival rates for older people and those in deprived communities, and relatively poor take-up of new therapies as the major causes of the UK's high cancer mortality rate. It recommends:

• Benchmarking elements of best practice in cancer services against our European neighbours, looking at patient awareness, early diagnosis, access to new treatments, and service configuration.

• Improving those areas of cancer services where the largest reductions in mortality can be achieved: earlier diagnosis, improving treatment for older people, targeting deprived communities, and ensuring the spread of approved treatments.

• The diagnosis stage should be included in the Quality and Outcomes Framework of the GP contract.

 
Henry Featherstone