England logs record 373,000 cancer diagnoses as waiting targets slip

England's cancer diagnosis tally has never been higher. NHS figures released Tuesday show more than 373,000 people learned they had cancer in 2024 — the largest annual number ever recorded — working out to 1,021 people a day, up from 972 a day in 2023. Four cancers did half the damage: prostate, breast, lung and bowel.

There is a genuine bright spot buried in the data. The share of first new cancers caught at stage 1 or 2 crept up to 56.7% in 2024 from 55.8% the year before, meaning slightly more cases are being snagged while they are still treatable. Prof Peter Johnson, NHS England's national clinical director for cancer, said the numbers show the service is heading the right way, crediting staff for pushing tests and checks closer to patients.

Speed is the problem. Just 78.6% of patients urgently referred over suspected cancer in August were diagnosed or given the all-clear within 28 days, under the 80% target. Treatment is worse: only 71.9% started treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or consultant upgrade, far short of the 85% benchmark.

Dr Ian Walker, policy executive director at Cancer Research UK, said too many cancers are still being caught late and warned the government must keep pressure on its national cancer plan for England. Without focused effort, clear accountability and guaranteed specialist staff and equipment, he said, nothing shifts.

Dr Hilary Williams of the Royal College of Physicians pointed at an ageing population and at obesity, which she called a major and often overlooked risk factor. She backed expanding targeted lung cancer screening, and said patients living longer with cancer must still get specialist care and support.

The headline number also flattens real inequality. Steven McIntosh of Macmillan Cancer Support said who you are and where you live still shapes your odds of getting cancer, how fast you're diagnosed and whether you survive. Rachael Franklin of Breast Cancer Now noted breast cancer remains the biggest killer of working-age women in the UK, with one in seven women diagnosed in their lifetime, and urged people to get anything unusual checked and to attend screenings.