A leading cancer specialist has written to Health Secretary Wes Streeting urging him to launch an overhaul of cancer services, alongside a damning new report showing nearly 200,000 avoidable cancer deaths in the UK over the last decade due to poor care.

The open letter, based on a range of official data, reveals that without action UK cancer deaths will rise to 200,000 deaths per year by 2040.

The data, drawn from sources such as the OECD - 38 richest nations, the charity Cancer Research UK, and the think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), shows the UK has one of the worst cancer survival rates of developed countries The figures, which have been gathered in a special report for the health secretary, shows if the UK had simply matched the average European cancer survival rate, 180,000 lives could have been saved since 2010.

In the letter, sent to the Health Secretary today written by Gordon Wishart, Professor of Cancer Surgery at Anglia Ruskin School of Medicine, said, “delayed diagnosis, poor access to treatment, and a chronic lack of NHS resources,” had left the UK with the worst cancer survival in the G7. Only eight out of 41 developed countries have higher cancer mortality rates, the letter states.

Prof Wishart, Chief Medical Officer, and CEO of Check4Cancer, a company developed to promote early cancer detection, said: “The UK also lags behind in life-saving diagnostic technology. Compared to other OECD nations, Britain has fewer doctors, fewer nurses, and fewer scanners per head of population - all contributing to long waits and late-stage diagnosis and treatment.”

He added Covid lockdowns had caused a catastrophic drop in diagnoses. In 2020 alone, 40,000 fewer cancers were detected compared to the previous year with a 4 percent rise in cases of patients being diagnosed at advanced stages — with lung, prostate and bowel cancers worst affected, according to his letter. Only 58 percent of cancers are detected at an early stage, according to the latest data, he said.

Prof Wishart said: “Just a four-week delay in diagnosis can slash survival chances by up to 8 percent, making timely detection absolutely vital. Yet even today, only around 50 percent of cancers are diagnosed through the official urgent referral pathways, meaning the rest wait even longer - sometimes with fatal consequences.”

The letter says that even post pandemic, screening is patchy and inequitable. While cervical cancer cases have dropped as a result of HPV vaccination, women in deprived areas are less likely to attend screenings — despite being more at risk.

It adds uptake is also poor for breast (65 percent) and bowel (70 percent) cancer screening. Prostate and lung cancer fare even worse - neither has a national screening programme, despite accounting for over 47,000 deaths a year between them.

Prof Wishart said: "A landmark Prostate Cancer UK trial will begin next year testing new screening methods like fast MRI and genetic tests, but results aren't expected until 2028. Despite the Targeted Lung screening pilots reporting 76 percent of patients detected at an early stage, a national lung screening programme is unlikely until 2029 - far too late for many,”

But he said the UK’s cancer crisis isn’t just down to late diagnosis, it's also being fuelled by an increasingly unhealthy population.

He highlighted research which shows around 40 percent of cancers are preventable, with risk factors including smoking, alcohol, diet, obesity, inactivity and air pollution. While smoking rates have dropped, an alarming 64 percent of UK adults are overweight or obese, placing the UK among the worst among the rich OECD nations. Rising cases among young people aged 25–49 have been linked to modern Western lifestyles - especially diets high in red meat, salt, and sugar, and low in fruit and milk.

Prof Wishart said: “Despite repeated warnings, the NHS continues to miss its 62-day treatment target - set in 2014 - for starting cancer treatment after urgent referral. Even the new “Faster Diagnosis” target (diagnosis within 28 days) only applies to urgent cases. Those who aren't referred urgently face longer and more dangerous delays."

Cancer Summit Report in 2021 warned the government about dangerously outdated equipment, understaffing, and insufficient funding, yet, he said "little has changed."

A 2023 King’s Fund study confirmed that the UK still lags behind on everything from MRI scanners to oncology staff.

“And once diagnosed, British cancer patients are less likely to receive chemotherapy — particularly the elderly," the letter states. "Older patients in the UK were consistently offered less treatment than those in Norway, Austria and Canada - contributing to lower survival rates for five major cancers.

“We are 10 to 15 years behind comparable countries. The UK’s cancer system is stretched to breaking point and falling further behind with every year that passes. We cannot afford to wait any longer.”

The letter calls for a 10-year cancer plan - which the current government has promised but has yet to deliver.

It also calls for:

Better lifestyle support to reduce cancer risk

Education and outreach to raise screening uptake

Faster access to streamlined diagnostic pathways

More staff, scanners, and surgical capacity

Wider adoption of AI and genetics to speed up screening and personalise treatment

Fair and fast access to treatment — regardless of age or postcode

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This government inherited a broken NHS with too many cancer patients waiting too long for diagnosis and treatment.

“Our Plan for Change is already making an impact, with 80,000 more diagnosed or ruled out with cancer between July and January - and the highest ever proportion of patients getting a diagnosis or an all clear within four weeks in February.

“This is just the start. Our National Cancer Plan will set out further how we will improve cancer care to bring this country’s cancer survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the world.”