Warning on rising cost of cancer treatment

The cost of diagnosing and treating cancer patients may rise by nearly two-thirds over the next decade, a report has warned.

Healthcare analyst Laing & Buisson said cancer survival rates in the UK could fall behind other developed nations because diagnosis and treatment costs were likely to increase by 62 per cent, from £9.4 billion in 2010 to £15.3bn by 2021.

That would mean the average cost of treating someone who has been diagnosed with cancer would increase from about £30,000 in 2010, to almost £40,000 in 2021.

The report, Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment: A 2021 Projection, carried out for private healthcare firm BCANupa, said: “If we do not address the rising cost of cancer, we are unlikely to be able to afford the desired and expected level of cancer diagnosis and treatment over the next ten years and beyond.

“This possibility will mean that the UK’s cancer survival rate could fall even further behind that of other developed countries.”

Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development revealed last month that the UK was lagging behind other countries on average survival rates for breast, bowel and cervical cancer.