Cancer treatment statistics

Surgery

All cancer patients who have surgery to remove their tumour

Chemotherapy

All cancer patients who have curative or palliative chemotherapy

Radiotherapy

All cancer patients who have curative or palliative radiotherapy

'14-day / Two-week wait'

England meets the standard for their country on the percentage of patients first seen by a specialist within two weeks of urgent GP referral for suspected cancer.[1]

'Two-week wait' supports early diagnosis as spotting cancer early is important for improving survival, so it is important that patients with potential cancer symptoms are referred promptly.

'31-day wait'

England and Scotland meet the standard for their country on the percentage of patients that receive their first cancer treatment within 31 days of a decision to treat, while Northern Ireland and Wales do not meet the standard for their country.[1-4]

The speed at which patients receive their first treatment can have a positive outcome on their clinical outcome, so it is important that patients with cancer symptoms are treated promptly.

'62-day wait'

None of the countries in the UK meet the standard for their country on the percentage of patients receiving their first definitive treatment for cancer within two months of a GP referral for suspected cancer.[1-4]

The speed at which patients receive their first treatment can have a positive outcome on their clinical outcome, so it is important that patients with cancer symptoms are treated promptly.

Cancer waiting times coding and standards are different in each country and so comparisons should not be made between countries, only each country against their own measures.

All Cancers Waiting Times, UK countries, 2014-2015

    England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland
'14-day wait': seen by specialist following referral Performance 94.2%      
Standard 93%      
Performance against standard Meets standard      
'31-day wait': receipt of first treatment following decision to treat Performance 97.6% 97.3% 96.7% 96.2%
Standard 96% 98% 95% 98%
Performance against standard Meets standard Does not meet standard Meets standard Does not meet standard
'62-day wait': receipt of first treatment following referral Performance 83.2% 96.1% 93.1% 72.6%
Standard 85% 95% 95% 95%
Performance against standard Does not meet standard Does not meet standard Does not meet standard Does not meet standard

Data not available for 14 day wait in Wales, Scotland or NI.

References

  1. NHS England. Cancer waiting times. Accessed May 2015.
  2. StatsWales. Cancer waiting times. Accessed May 2015. 
  3. ISD Scotland. Cancer Waiting Times. Accessed June 2015. 
  4. Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. Cancer Waiting Times. Accessed June 2015.

About this data

Data is for: UK, 2014-2015, ICD-10 C00-C97

Cancer waiting times statistics are for patients who entered the health care system within financial year 2014-15. All cancers combined includes ICD-10 C00-C97.

Last reviewed:

The National Cancer Patient Experience Survey monitors patients’ self-reported satisfaction with each step of the cancer pathway in England, providing information to drive improvements in cancer care.[1] The survey has been conducted annually since 2010.

Overall, most cancer patients in England report positive experiences of cancer care. However patient experience varies along the cancer pathway, and by gender, ethnicity, age, deprivation, and cancer type. Satisfaction scores tend to be higher for experiences with Clinical Nurse Specialists and other hospital staff, and lower for experiences with GPs and general practice staff. Patients who report more positive experiences of cancer diagnosis and treatment tend to be male, white, older, and less deprived.

Last reviewed:

45% of patients diagnosed with cancer (selected cancers) in England during 2013-2014 had surgery to remove their tumour, as part of their primary cancer treatment.[1] This includes patients who had surgery alone, and those who also had other treatments such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Surgery not intending to remove the tumour, including biopsies or other palliative surgery, is not included in this figure.

The proportion of cancer patients having surgery to remove their primary tumour is strongly influenced by stage at diagnosis. 

Other factors are also important, such as whether the patient is generally well enough to tolerate the treatment, the patient’s age, and their own treatment preference.

Selected Cancers (C00-C97, excl C44, C17, C21, C23-C24, C26, C37-C49, C58, C60, C62-C63, C70-C97), Percentage of Patients Having Surgery to Remove Their Tumour as Part of Their Primary Treatment, Persons, All ages, England, 2013-2014

Stage at Diagnosis Percentage of patients
All stages combined 44.8%
Stage 1 69.7%
Stage 2 66.5%
Stage 3 49.5%
Stage 4 12.9%
Unknown stage 23.8%

References

  1. National Cancer Registration & Analysis Service and Cancer Research UK: "Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy and Tumour Resections in England: 2013-2014" workbook. London: NCRAS; 2017.

About this data

Data is for: England, 2013-2014

Cancer types included for surgery statistics: C00-97, excl C44, C17, C21, C23-C24,C26, C37-C49, C58, C60, C62-C63, C70-C97. ICD-0-3 codes have been used to identify small cell and non-small cell lung cancers.

Surgery to remove the tumour includes any surgical attempt to remove the whole of the primary tumour.

Different timeframes have been set following diagnosis for specific cancer sites to ensure the surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy was part of the primary treatment for the tumour.

The percentage of patients having surgery to remove their tumour, radiotherapy or chemotherapy do not sum to 100%, as patients are able to have more than one type of treatment, as well as other treatments not included in this data, for example hormonal therapy.

Stage of disease uses TNM staging, with the exception of gynaecological cancers (C48, C51, C53-C57) where FIGO staging has been used.

Last reviewed:

27% of patients diagnosed with cancer (all cancers combined) in England during 2013-2014 had curative or palliative radiotherapy, as part of their primary cancer treatment.[1] This includes patients who had radiotherapy alone, and those who also had other treatments such as surgery to remove the tumour, or chemotherapy.

The proportion of cancer patients having radiotherapy is strongly influenced by stage at diagnosis. 

Other factors are also important, such as whether the patient is generally well enough to tolerate the treatment, the patient’s age, and their own treatment preference.

All Cancers Combined (C00-97, excl C44), Percentage of Patients Receiving Radiotherapy as Part of Their Primary Treatment, Persons, All ages, England, 2013-2014

Stage at diagnosis Percentage of patients
All stages combined 27.3%
Stage 1 28.4%
Stage 2 38.7%
Stage 3 38.1%
Stage 4 25.4%
Unknown stage 15.6%

References

  1. National Cancer Registration & Analysis Service and Cancer Research UK: "Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy and Tumour Resections in England: 2013-2014" workbook. London: NCRAS; 2017.

About this data

Data is for: England, 2013-2014

Cancer types included for surgerystatistics: C00-97, excl C44, C17, C21, C23-C24,C26, C37-C49, C58, C60, C62-C63, C70-C97. ICD-0-3 codes have been used to identify small cell and non-small cell lung cancers.

Cancer types included for chemotherapy and radiotherapy: C00-97 excl C44.

Radiotherapy includes both curative and palliative teletherapy procedures (excluding Brachytherapy and Contact Radiotherapy).

Different timeframes have been set following diagnosis for specific cancer sites to ensure the surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy was part of the primary treatment for the tumour.

The percentage of patients having surgery to remove their tumour, radiotherapy or chemotherapy do not sum to 100%, as patients are able to have more than one type of treatment, as well as other treatments not included in this data, for example hormonal therapy.

Stage of disease uses TNM staging, with the exception of gynaecological cancers (C48, C51, C53-C57) where FIGO staging has been used.

Last reviewed:

28% of patients diagnosed with cancer (all cancers combined) in England in 2013-2014 had curative or palliative chemotherapy, as part of their primary cancer treatment.[1] This includes patients who had chemotherapy alone, and those who also had other treatments such as tumour removal surgery or radiotherapy.

The proportion of cancer patients having chemotherapy is strongly influenced by stage at diagnosis.

Other factors are also important, such as whether the patient is generally well enough to tolerate the treatment, the patient’s age, and their own treatment preference.

All cancers combined (C00-97, excl C44), Percentage of Patients Receiving Chemotherapy as Part of Their Primary Treatment, Persons, All ages, England, 2013-2014

Stage at diagnosis Percentage of patients
All stages combined 28.4%
Stage 1 12.4%
Stage 2 31.8%
Stage 3 46.1%
Stage 4 38.7%
Unknown stage 24.2%

References

  1. National Cancer Registration & Analysis Service and Cancer Research UK: "Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy and Tumour Resections in England: 2013-2014" workbook. London: NCRAS; 2017.

About this data

Data is for: England, 2013-2014

Cancer types included for surgery statistics: C00-97, excl C44, C17, C21, C23-C24,C26, C37-C49, C58, C60, C62-C63, C70-C97. ICD-0-3 codes have been used to identify small cell and non-small cell lung cancers.

Cancer types included for chemotherapy and radiotherapy: C00-97 excl C44.

Chemotherapy includes both curative and palliative chemotherapy (excluding hormonal therapy, and other supportive drugs such as Zoledronic acid, Pamidronate, Denosumab).

Different timeframes have been set following diagnosis for specific cancer sites to ensure the surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy was part of the primary treatment for the tumour.

The percentage of patients having surgery to remove their tumour, radiotherapy or chemotherapy do not sum to 100%, as patients are able to have more than one type of treatment, as well as other treatments not included in this data, for example hormonal therapy.

Stage of disease uses TNM staging, with the exception of gynaecological cancers (C48, C51, C53-C57) where FIGO staging has been used.

Last reviewed:

Devolved Nation Key Statistics

Interested in an overview for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?

Cancer stats explained

See information and explanations on terminology used for statistics and reporting of cancer, and the methods used to calculate some of our statistics.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the many organisations across the UK which collect, analyse, and share the data which we use, and to the patients and public who consent for their data to be used. Find out more about the sources which are essential for our statistics.