Sunday, August 7, 2022
No Result
View All Result
Citizen Movement
  • Latest news
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Money
  • Science & Space
  • Technology
  • Energy & Environment
  • The House Magazine
  • Latest news
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Money
  • Science & Space
  • Technology
  • Energy & Environment
  • The House Magazine
No Result
View All Result
Citizen Movement
No Result
View All Result
Home Science & Space
How can we diagnose more cancers earlier? - Cancer Research UK

How can we diagnose more cancers earlier? – Cancer Research UK

Citizen Movement by Citizen Movement
July 27, 2021
in Science & Space
0

3,000 to 4,000 cancer deaths a year could be prevented by lung cancer CT screening programmes, beyond current lung health checks, writes Professor Charles Swanton. Lung cancer CT scan Credit: Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0

It’s an eye-opening statistic. 1 in 2 people in the UK will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime.

Like many, we want to make a difference. Our ambition is to accelerate progress and see 3 in 4 people surviving the disease within the next 20 years

Key to this is diagnosing cancer at an early stage, when it’s more likely to be treated successfully, meaning a better chance of survival.

UK governments recognise the importance of diagnosing cancer at an early stage and there are various targets, plans and initiatives in place to work towards it. In England, the NHS have set bold ambitions for cancer, including that 3 in 4 cancers should be diagnosed at stage 1 or stage 2 by 2028, something we covered at the time.

But despite these ambitions and increased efforts in recent years, the proportion of cancers diagnosed at an early stage (1 and 2) has been stubbornly stable.

Copy this link and share our graphic. Credit: Cancer Research UK

And with an ageing population, the total number of people being diagnosed with cancer each year will increase. This means that the government will need to increase diagnostic services just to maintain the current proportion of cancer patients diagnosed early.

To hit its ambition of 3 in 4 patients diagnosed early in England, the government will need an additional 100,000 patients to be diagnosed early each year from 2028. A monumental task that will require action on multiple fronts.

How do we get there, and beyond?

A lot has been done already to move the dial, including the launch of the National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative (NAEDI) in 2008. NAEDI, which Cancer Research UK co-chaired with the then National Clinical Director for Cancer, Professor Sir Mike Richards, did a huge amount to grow and mobilise the early diagnosis community.

“The early diagnosis community has grown so much over the years, and there has been some excellent work done,” says Dr Jodie Moffat, head of strategic evidence and early diagnosis programme lead at Cancer Research UK.

“But there’s more we can be doing to ensure that we’re acting on all the things we know can make a difference now, preparing ourselves for what’s coming down the pipeline, and investing in the research that will identify the interventions of the future.”

To help, we’ve estimated the impact different types of activity could make to the stage distribution of cancer at an all-cancer level.

Copy this link to share our graphic. Credit: Cancer Research UK

Key areas of activity include:

  • Implementing and improving life-saving cancer screening programmes.
  • Informing and empowering people to respond promptly to signs and symptoms that could be cancer.
  • Health professionals being alert to the risk of cancer and being supported to act, including access to tests and test reports, and pathways that suit the range of patients they see.
  • Research and innovation for the future, to fully realise the vision of bringing forward the day when all cancers are cured.

When it comes to assessing the impact different activity could have, estimates were based on existing data or informed judgement where data wasn’t available.

“For the screening related interventions it tends to be easier, because there is more evidence and data to go on,” says Moffat. “We look at how much impact a particular intervention has had on stage shift and work out what the impact would be of optimising that intervention.

“For example, we estimated what the impact on all cancer stage shift could be if FIT bowel screening was not only offered to everyone from age 50, but also if the cut-off point of what is considered to be a positive test result was reduced.”

“We must look forward”

Despite knowing what we need to do, there are challenges to overcome in the journey towards early diagnosis. “A challenge to achieving early diagnosis is that there is no one silver bullet,” says Moffat, whose team helped to create the ‘waterfall’ diagram. “We need to be making a number of changes and doing them well, quickly and equitably in order to deliver.

“This is going to mean investment in diagnostic equipment, it’s going to need workforce, it’s going to need cross-NHS and cross-community working. None of these things are easy, particularly at a time when there is a lot of pressure in the system of trying to recover from COVID-19. But we must continue to look forward and to bring about the changes needed to ensure everyone with cancer gets the best possible care.”

Undoubtedly, the COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted cancer services and the way in which people respond to and act on their health. Whether we will see the impact reflected in the cancer stage data remains to be seen, but sadly we wouldn’t be surprised if improvements in all-cancer stage 1 and 2 statistics continues to be slow, and for some cancer sites, if stage distribution gets worse.

“COVID-19 has undoubtedly brought challenges, but there is a lot to be positive about, and working together as a community to drive forward early diagnosis is one of those.”

Hope Walters is a strategic evidence officer at Cancer Research UK

More on this topic

Tags: diagnosing cancerearly detectionscreening
Next Post
Paedophile spoke to decoy pretending to be 13-year-old girl while on bail

Paedophile spoke to decoy pretending to be 13-year-old girl while on bail

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
On Ukraine Front Line in Donetsk, Small Victories Carry a Heavy Toll

On Ukraine Front Line in Donetsk, Small Victories Carry a Heavy Toll

July 17, 2022
Ukrainian service dog who ‘found 150 explosives during war’ is a very good boy

Ukrainian service dog who ‘found 150 explosives during war’ is a very good boy

April 26, 2022
Bear seeks revenge by killing hunter who shot him before succumbing to wounds

Bear seeks revenge by killing hunter who shot him before succumbing to wounds

June 22, 2022
Over half of employees prefer hybrid work

Over half of employees prefer hybrid work

April 27, 2022
Coronavirus infection rates, cases and deaths for all parts of Wales on Wednesday, July 21

Coronavirus infection rates, cases and deaths for all parts of Wales on Wednesday, July 21

0
'How someone hasn't died, I don't know' Video shows aftermath of huge multi-vehicle crash in the valleys

‘How someone hasn’t died, I don’t know’ Video shows aftermath of huge multi-vehicle crash in the valleys

0
Boris Johnson apologises to businesses over "pingdemic" after workers told to self-isolate

Boris Johnson apologises to businesses over “pingdemic” after workers told to self-isolate

0
Will the iPhone 8 charge wirelessly?

Will the iPhone 8 charge wirelessly?

0
Phroaarrrr! Lion becomes zoo’s mane attraction with new mullet hairstyle

Phroaarrrr! Lion becomes zoo’s mane attraction with new mullet hairstyle

August 7, 2022
Photos From Ukraine’s Front Lines

Photos From Ukraine’s Front Lines

August 7, 2022
Photos From Ukraine’s Front Lines

Photos From Ukraine’s Front Lines

August 7, 2022
Phroaarrrr! Lion becomes zoo’s mane attraction with new mullet hairstyle

Phroaarrrr! Lion becomes zoo’s mane attraction with new mullet hairstyle

August 7, 2022
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright
  • Contact us
No Result
View All Result
  • Latest news
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Money
  • Science & Space
  • Technology
  • Energy & Environment
  • The House Magazine

© 2022 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT