Coalition of cancer experts pen 'letter to the world' demanding urgent investment amid grim warning that cases will soar by 50% by 2040

  • The coalition of experts argued we’re at a ‘tipping point’ in cancer research 
  • READ MORE: Stephen Fry slams ‘deadly’ waits for NHS cancer treatment

Donors and philanthropists were today urgently called upon to fund millions of pounds of vital cancer research.

More than 50 charities and experts argued the scientific community now stood at a ‘tipping point’ requiring a united global response to tackle the disease.

In the open ‘letter to the world’, the coalition said the next decade presented a ‘unique opportunity’ to transform cancer treatment for millions, fuelled by advances in AI and technology.

Philanthropic support would enable developments including new blood tests to detect the disease earlier and algorithms predicting someone’s cancer risk.

Global cancer cases are predicted to increase by around 50 per cent by 2040.

coalition of cancer experts pen 'letter to the world' demanding urgent investment amid grim warning that cases will soar by 50% by 2040
coalition of cancer experts pen 'letter to the world' demanding urgent investment amid grim warning that cases will soar by 50% by 2040

While the level of progress for cancer survival for some forms of the disease has been rapid, such as for breast and prostate cancers, others, like those for lung and pancreas have only improved at a snail’s pace

Domestically, Cancer Research UK estimates 110,000 deaths could be avoided over the next two decades, if UK cancer mortality rates are reduced by 15 per cent.

The charity has today also launched its own ‘More Research, Less Cancer’ campaign, aiming to raise £400million.

In November, its 200-page ‘programme for Government’ warned of a £1billion shortfall in research funding, as it had yet to commit to maintaining levels of spending in the field in real terms.

Just 38 per cent of all publicly funded cancer research in the UK comes from the government, Cancer Research UK said, adding the US government funds five times more cancer research ‘per capita’ than the UK.

Poor bile duct cancer awareness ‘frequently’ prevents patients from accessing treatment  

Just one in five patients have their cancer caught early, meaning they are often unable to access treatments, the charity AMMF warned today.

Prognosis for patients with cholangiocarcinoma — a liver cancer occurring within the bile ducts — is ‘dismal’, they said, adding that increasing rates of disease may mean it will no longer be classed as a ‘rare’ cancer.

Just half of NHS patients in England (49 per cent) are given treatment after diagnosis, they said.

On average only 12 per cent of patients are given surgery — the only current cure for this type of cancer, according to a study published in December last year.

It comes as the first new treatment for the disease in 12 years was approved for use in the NHS last month.

AstraZeneca’s durvalumab, an immunotherapy which shrinks or slows the growth of tumours, was approved for use among patients with advanced cholangiocarcinoma.

AMMF said that the treatment, which is taken alongside chemotherapy, offers “enormous hope” to patients who are not considered suitable for surgery.

It also warned charities have long had to ‘pick up the burden of decades of under-investment’.

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: ‘We stand on the brink of discoveries that will transform how we understand and treat cancer.

‘Discoveries like new blood tests that detect cancer at an earlier stage, and algorithms that predict someone’s cancer risk and stop it from developing in the first place.

‘These discoveries, that the research and scientific community are on the cusp of, have the potential to save and improve countless lives. But investment is needed.

‘We’re partnering with more philanthropists than ever before, all of whom share our appetite for discovery and translating results into real patient benefit. But we need to go further.

‘We need people with the means and vision to help us bring about a world where everybody can lead longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.’

Meanwhile, letter signee Sir Paul Nurse, director of the Francis Crick Institute, added: ‘With the changes that we are witnessing with technological innovations, work can now be carried out much more quickly.

‘In the next decade, therapies for children’s cancers can be revolutionised, blood tests and personal health data will allow for earlier detection of cancer whilst those with complex cancers will benefit from access to more personalised, life-saving treatments.

‘But, if we are to continue making huge leaps in how we prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, we need the funds.’

Experts believe delays in diagnosis and slow access to treatment are currently behind the UK’s lethal gap in cancer survival rates.

Health leaders have consistently warned that an array of key cancer targets have not been hit in recent years.

The NHS Long Term Plan, published in 2019, sets out that 75 per cent of people with cancer should be diagnosed early, at either stage one or two, by 2028.

But cancer care effectively ground to a halt for some patients when the pandemic first reached the UK’s shores, with appointments cancelled and diagnostic scans delayed because of the Government’s devotion to protecting the NHS.

They have also estimated 40,000 cancers went undiagnosed during the first year of pandemic alone.

Official NHS data for December on cancer waiting times also shows just seven in 10 (74.2 per cent) of patients urgently referred for suspected cancer were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days. The target is 75 per cent.

Just nine in ten (91.1 per cent) waiting a month or less for their first cancer treatment to begin after a decision to proceed with surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

The target is 96 per cent but this has never been met.

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