Hundreds of 'missing' cancer diagnoses in Wigan in 2020 – as fewer found at early stage

Cancer Research UK has urged the Government to improve outcomes for people with cancer and take services in England from being "world-lagging to world-leading".

In the former NHS Wigan Borough CCG area, there were 1,663 cancers diagnosed in 2020 – the year the coronavirus pandemic began.

That was 327 fewer than the year before, when there were 1,990 diagnoses, according to figures from NHS Digital.

Lung cancer was the most common, accounting for 16.1 per cent of diagnoses. This was followed by breast (12.2 per cent) and prostate (9.4 per cent) cancer.

The figures show that alongside a drop in the number of cancers diagnosed in Wigan, the proportion found at an early stage fell – 51.7 per cent of cancers with a valid stage were diagnosed early in 2020, down from 52.2 per cent in 2019.

Across England, there were roughly 40,400 fewer cancers diagnosed in 2020, while the early diagnosis rate tumbled to 51.9 per cent, from 54.5 per cent in 2019.

Jon Shelton, head of cancer intelligence at Cancer Research UK, said the pandemic caused huge disruption to cancer care, but the "crisis" facing cancer services was accelerated rather than caused by it.

He said: “We have been sounding the alarm on the importance of early diagnosis for years.

"Right now, the Government is falling short of its manifesto promise of improving cancer outcomes in the UK and significantly improving cancers diagnosed at their earliest stage.

"We need Steve Barclay to step up and commit to a comprehensive and fully funded 10-year cancer plan which transforms our cancer services from world-lagging to world-leading."

A fall in the national early diagnosis rate in 2020 followed two years of improvement – though the figure is yet to return to the high of 54.6 per cent in 2014.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care did not respond to the cancer diagnosis figures, but said the department was "laser focused" on tackling cancer waiting lists across England, adding that 160 community diagnostic centres are being rolled out in a bid to tackle the backlogs caused by the pandemic.