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Almost half of cancers 'caught too late'

Almost half of cancers diagnosed in England are discovered late knocking back the chances of successful treatment, according to a report.

Some 52,000 cancer patients could improve their chances of survival if they were diagnosed early - and save the NHS £210 million, the report from Cancer Research UK claims.

Early-stage tumours can often be removed by surgery, but once a cancer has started to spread around the body it becomes much more difficult and costly to treat.

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Cancers diagnosed early would 'save NHS £44m'

If four of the most common cancers - colon, rectal, lung and ovarian - were diagnosed early, it could save the NHS £44 million in treatment costs ever year, a report has found.

According to Cancer Research UK's report, Incisive Health:

  • Early diagnosis in those cancers would benefit at least 11,000 patients.
  • Diagnosis figures for seven cancers in England - breast, colorectal (bowel), lung, melanoma (skin), Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, ovarian and prostate - showed that 46% were detected at a late stage in 2012.
  • Breast cancer had the best diagnosis rate - 83% of cases of were identified early, highlighting the benefits of national screening.
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Almost half of cancers 'caught too late'

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