Serious concerns raised over declining performance in life-saving cancer treatment

Leading healthcare professionals responsible for the delivery of the cancer treatment radiotherapy, have issued calls for urgent investment in the radiotherapy services in England to address declining performance. 

Two new reports, released today by the UK Radiotherapy Board, set out a concerning decline in the operational performance of radiotherapy services in England. 

The target for 94% of cancer patients to receive radiotherapy treatment within 31 days has not been met since July 2021. Regional disparities in performance against these targets exist, with patients in the North East and Yorkshire being nearly six times more likely to be delayed from treatment than those in the North West and South West.    

Radiotherapy is a treatment where radiation is used to kill cancer cells and is delivered by multi-disciplinary teams of cancer professionals, including clinical oncologists, therapeutic radiographers, and physicists.

The UK Radiotherapy Board’s calls come alongside the publication of the first Health Economics in Radiation Oncology (HERO) report published by the European Society for Therapeutic Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO), which provides the estimated cost of radiotherapy to the NHS, shedding light on the economic landscape of cancer treatment. 

The report finds that Radiotherapy costs approximately £3,000 per course, significantly lower than other cancer treatments such as chemotherapy. The report also highlights that Radiotherapy accounts for approximately 7% of the total cancer spend, with equipment costs comprising the majority at 62.3%.

The UK Radiotherapy Board have identified a series of drivers behind the decline in performance from insufficient clinical capacity to an outdated funding model and concerns around lack of essential equipment.

Dr Tom Roques, co-author of the ESTRO-HERO report and Vice President of Clinical Oncology at the Royal College of Radiologists said: 

“More and more often, we hear about patients enduring extended waits for treatment. Radiotherapy, a crucial treatment, has been overlooked and underfunded. To turn the trend around, both the Government and NHS England must invest in radiotherapy services and the workforce involved in delivering it.”