Britain follows other countries in waiting times for cancer treatment, research shows
Research shows that cancer patients in Britain wait up to seven weeks longer before starting radiotherapy or chemotherapy than people in comparable countries.
The grim findings are yet more damning evidence of the extent to which Britain is lagging behind other countries, as experts warn people’s chances of survival are being affected by the long wait for treatment.
In the first study of its kind, experts from University College London analyzed data from more than 780,000 cancer patients diagnosed between 2012 and 2017 in four comparable countries: Australia, Canada, Norway and the United Kingdom. Eight types of cancer were included: esophageal, stomach, colon, rectum, liver, pancreas, lung and ovarian cancer.
The two studies, published in the Lancet Oncology, were the first to examine treatment differences for eight types of cancer in countries on three continents. British patients had to wait the longest for treatment, the study showed.
The average time to start chemotherapy was 48 days in England, 57 in Northern Ireland, 58 in Wales and 65 in Scotland. The shortest time was 39 days in Norway.
In radiotherapy, Britain fared even worse. In Northern Ireland it took an average of 53 days to start treatment, in England 63 days, in Scotland 79 days and in Wales 81 days.
In Newfoundland, Canada, which had the best record, the average wait time was 42 days. Compared to Newfoundland, waiting times for radiotherapy in Northern Ireland were eleven days longer. It was three weeks longer in England, and seven weeks longer in Scotland and Wales.
The research also found that a lower proportion of people with cancer received chemotherapy and radiotherapy in Britain than in other countries. Fifty-nine percent of ovarian cancer patients in Britain received chemotherapy, compared with 67% in Canada, 72% in Norway and 73% in Australia. The same was true for patients with pancreatic cancer: 27% in Britain, compared with 41% in Canada, 44% in Norway and 47% in Australia.
Older patients were the least likely to receive chemotherapy and radiotherapy, especially in Britain. For example, 2% of British patients aged 85 and over received chemotherapy, compared to 8% in Australia and 14% in Ontario.
Although not all patients need them, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are important treatment options. Countries with better cancer survival rates tended to use chemotherapy and radiotherapy more and have shorter waits for treatment, the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership study found.
Cancer Research UK, which partly funded the two trials, said delays in starting treatment were partly due to the UK government’s lack of long-term planning on cancer in recent years. Countries with robust cancer strategies, supported by financing, had seen better improvements in survival rates, the report said.
The NHS staffing crisis was also a barrier to providing treatment, the charity said. Michelle Mitchell, chief executive, said: “When it comes to cancer treatment, timing really does matter. We can learn a lot from other countries that have intensified and substantially improved cancer services. With a general election looming, the UK government has a real opportunity to break the trends we see in this research and do better for people affected by cancer.”
Dr. John Butler, a cancer surgeon and clinical lead of the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership, said: “Lower use of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in Britain could impact people’s chances of survival, especially for older patients.”
He said cancer survival rates in Britain lagged behind those in other countries by about 10 to 15 years. “This study captures missed opportunities for patients in Britain to receive life-extending treatment.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said it has made significant investment in cancer care since the period covered by the study, including £162 million in radiotherapy equipment and £2.3 billion in community diagnostic centres.
“Survival rates are also improving for almost all types of cancer,” a spokesperson added.