UK aims at lowest toll of cancer deaths

Pilot programmes to screen over-55s for bowel cancer will be launched in five areas in England, enabling doctors to detect and remove polyps before they turn cancerous and catch cancer earlier – when it is more treatable.

And Sheffield is one six sites that will pilot a new test introduced for cervical screening which is more sensitive and may mean that women would need screening half as often, while finding abnormal cells earlier, at a more treatable stage.

Ministers said the programmes will save up to 3,000 lives a year.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “We want to become a world-leader for tackling diseases like cancer, saving more lives by making sure people get a diagnosis sooner and receive the most effective treatment.”

The plans were unveiled at a major cancer conference – Britain Against Cancer – in London.

Mr Hunt, who addressed the event, said he was surprised to find “all the top people in the NHS” were behind him in his goal of having the lowest cancer mortality rate in Europe.

“(They all said) absolutely, we should never have been aiming to be as good as the European average in the first place and we are perfectly capable of being the best in Europe and let’s embrace that as a goal.

“I appreciate these are only words and it’s all about delivery and the commitment I want to give you all is that I’m not going to change my priorities and I’m going to stick with them for as long as I’m Health Secretary.”

For some cancer types, survival rates are 10 per cent to 15 per cent lower in England than in comparable countries such as Australia, Canada and Sweden.

The bowel cancer screening trials will be held in Norwich, South of Tyne, St Mark’s London, Surrey, West Kent and Wolverhampton. The cervical cancer test will be piloted in Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester, Northwick Park, Bristol, and Norwich.

Mike Hobday, Director of Policy and Research at Macmillan Cancer Support, welcomed the announcement, adding: “We look forward to the results of the pilots and, if successful, would hope to see these rolled out across the UK to help more people survive.”