UK cancer care: a watershed moment and the need for urgent intervention.

Abstract

In November, 2022, NHS England reported the worst ever waiting times for cancer treatment (figure 1).1,2 In the past 12 months, 69 000 patients in the UK have waited longer than the recommended 62-day wait from suspected cancer referral to start of treatment (twice as many than in 2017–18), with 13% of patients with cancer in England waiting more than 104 days in September, 2022—double the advised maximum waiting time.3 Waiting times for cancer treatment have been steadily deteriorating since 2013, but this deterioration has been exacerbated since the COVID-19 pandemic.