Some patients waiting over 104 days to start cancer treatment on NHS

The NHS is failing on key cancer targets with some patients forced to wait more than 104 days from referral to treatment, damning figures reveal.

Almost all trusts failed to ensure 85 per cent of patients waited no more than 62 days in 2025, although there was wide variation in performance.

At the worst hospitals, fewer than half of patients were seen on time last year, according to NHS England data.

This risks slashing their survival chances, can make some treatments less effective and is likely to increase their anxiety.

The longstanding target of treating 85 per cent of patients within 62 days has not been met at a national level since 2014.

The Government has also set an interim target for trusts to treat 75 per cent of patients within this timeframe by March this year, in light of disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

But just three of 119 acute trusts with comparable data hit or surpassed the 85 per cent mark last year, while only around a quarter made it above 75 per cent.

The three managing to meet the 85 per cent target in 2025 were Calderdale and Huddersfield (89.2 per cent of patients), Homerton Healthcare (85.8 per cent) and Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells (85.7 per cent).

The bottom three performing trusts were Mid & South Essex (seeing just 45.4 per cent of patients within 62 days), Sheffield Teaching Hospitals (50.1 per cent) and Hull University Teaching Hospitals (53.1 per cent).

At a couple of trusts, at least one in six patients who began cancer treatment in December 2025 had been waiting more than 104 days since an urgent referral.

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: 'Every cancer patient deserves access to timely, high-quality care.

'Although NHS staff are working hard to cope with increasing pressure on cancer services, far too many people still face unacceptable delays for vital treatment.

'The UK Government has set an important commitment to meet all cancer waiting times targets in England by 2029, but this can't be achieved at the current rate of progress.

'More investment in NHS workforce and equipment will be crucial to deliver genuine change for patients across the country.'

Across England as a whole, 69.1 per cent of patients (239,038 out of 345,847) began cancer treatment within 62 days last year, up slightly from 67.7 per cent (221,380 out of 327,221) in 2024, but well below the target.

Some 65 of the 119 trusts saw a rise year on year in the percentage of patients seen within 62 days, while 54 saw a fall.

Four trusts made it above 85 per cent in 2024 compared with three in 2025, with Calderdale and Huddersfield topping the list in both years.

Bea Taylor, fellow at the Nuffield Trust think tank, said the NHS 'often struggles' to sustain progress on improving cancer waiting times, but 'there isn't time for stagnation' as trusts work towards the 85 per cent target.

'For this to be achieved there is still a considerable gap to close, and the NHS will need to keep up momentum and build on it, instead of fluctuating throughout the year,' she said.

'The UK lags behind other countries in cancer outcomes and faces longstanding gaps in investment and staff, with key equipment like diagnostic scanners in short supply compared to countries like Germany, Sweden and Italy.

'These factors also made it more difficult for the NHS to recover cancer care post-pandemic.

'Taking advantage of new developments in digital technology could help, for example, by using AI to speed up diagnosis for patients, but making the UK 'world-leading' on cancer will take time and the commitment of scarce resources in a health service already under pressure.'

An NHS spokesman said: 'The NHS is seeing and treating record numbers of patients for cancer, with more than three quarters of people receiving a diagnosis or all clear within four weeks, but there are still too many people experiencing unacceptably long waits for their first treatment.

'Our landmark National Cancer Plan sets out a clear roadmap to ensuring we are meeting all three cancer standards to see and treat patients on time over the next three years, with further improvements to make care more personalised and significantly improve survival.'

Trusts with poor performance said they are working hard to improve care and treat more patients faster.