Cancer Diagnoses in England Hit Record High, With More Than 1,000 People Diagnosed Every Day

Cancer diagnoses in England have reached a record high. According to the latest NHS cancer registration statistics, more than 373,000 people were diagnosed with cancer in England in 2024, the highest figure on record.

The statistics show that an average of 1,021 people were diagnosed with cancer every day in 2024. In 2023 the figure was 972 a day, meaning the daily number of diagnoses rose by 49 within a year.

Half of all new diagnoses were accounted for by four types of cancer. Prostate, breast, lung and bowel cancers together made up half of all new cases, the figures show.

There was an improvement in the stage at which cancers were diagnosed. In 2024, 56.7 percent of first new cancers were diagnosed at stages one and two, compared with 55.8 percent in 2023.

Professor Peter Johnson, the NHS national clinical director for cancer, said the figures showed the health service was moving in the right direction and were testimony to the hard work of NHS staff. He said NHS teams across the country were taking tests and checks closer to the people who need them, and that with new treatments being developed all the time, everything possible would continue to be done to get people seen and treated as early as possible.

Experts warned, however, that the NHS is still failing to meet its timescale targets for diagnosis and treatment. The latest monthly figures show that in August, 78.6 percent of patients in England urgently referred for suspected cancer were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days, below the target of 80 percent.

The service is lagging further behind on treatment. The proportion of patients who began treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or consultant upgrade was 71.9 percent, well below the target of 85 percent.

Dr Ian Walker, the executive director of policy at Cancer Research UK, said that while NHS staff are diagnosing more people every day, too many are still being caught at a late stage. He said the health service needed additional support to reduce the number of cancers diagnosed late and to treat patients on time.

Walker said the UK government had pledged to improve early diagnosis, cancer waiting times and access to treatment in its national cancer plan for England. He said it now needed to keep its foot on the pedal to ensure cancer patients are not let down, adding that the situation would not change without focused effort from the government, clear accountability, and a guarantee that the NHS will get the specialist staff and equipment it needs.

Dr Hilary Williams, the clinical vice-president at the Royal College of Physicians and a consultant in medical oncology, said more than 1,000 cancer diagnoses every day was a stark reminder of the growing demand on NHS cancer services. She said an ageing population was an important factor in the increase, but obesity was also a major and often overlooked risk factor for cancer.

Williams said that alongside preventing cancer, the NHS needed to continue improving early detection, including through the expansion of targeted lung cancer screening. As more people are diagnosed and live longer with cancer, she said, they must be able to access the specialist care and support they need.

Steven McIntosh, the chief partnerships officer at Macmillan Cancer Support, said the figures also masked persistent health inequalities.