The proportion of patients being diagnosed with cancer at an early stage in England has risen to its highest ever level, according to new NHS analysis.
Latest data on 13 of the most common cancers, such as breast, prostate and lung cancer, shows that nearly three in five patients are now being diagnosed at stages one or two, when the cancer is easier to treat.
The increased number of cancers being caught earlier follows a major drive by the NHS over the last two years to encourage millions of people to come forward for potentially life-saving checks, especially those who may be at higher risk as a result of hereditary or lifestyle factors.
Rapid cancer registration data shows that 120,958 of the 206,038 common cancers (58.7%) diagnosed between September 2023 and August 2024 were identified at an early stage – an improvement of 2.7 percentage points on pre-pandemic levels, corresponding to an estimated additional 7,000 patients diagnosed at an early stage.
