UK cancer care: Don't get distracted by AI, experts urge
'The current narrative needs to move away from a technocentric approach to improving care,' they say
Leading cancer specialists are urging the NHS to prioritise core aspects of cancer care over unproven technological solutions.
A new study published by a team of nine doctors and academics in The Lancet Oncology sounds the alarm on the state of NHS cancer care. It highlights the UK's lagging survival rates compared to other developed nations and warns that the service is at a "tipping point."
The experts list ten key pressure points threatening to overwhelm the NHS, including treatment delays, changing demographics, and lack of patient follow-up post-care.
A key concern is the NHS's failure to meet its target of 85% of cancer patients starting treatment within two months of referral, a metric unmet since December 2015. This delay translates to hundreds of thousands waiting for crucial treatment, with only 67% receiving it within the recommended 62-day window.
International research suggests every four-week delay increases the risk of death by 10%.
The study criticises the overhyping of "magic bullet" solutions like new diagnostic tests and AI. The authors argue these technologies fail to address fundamental systemic issues and may even exacerbate existing inequalities.
They emphasise the need to prioritise core aspects of patient care: early diagnosis, timely treatment, quality care, and proper follow-up.
"The current narrative needs to move away from a technocentric approach to improving care, to one focused on understanding the complexity of cancer services and the wider health system to drive improvements in survival, quality of life, and experience for patients," the researchers argue in the paper.
Ajay Aggarwal, the paper's lead author, said: "AI is a workflow tool, but actually, is it going to improve survival? Well, we've got limited evidence of that so far. Yes, it's something that could potentially help the workforce, but you still need people to take a patient's history, to take blood, to do surgery, to break bad news."
To address all these issues, the study suggests several solutions including:
- Establishing an NHS task force to tackle the social and economic factors impacting cancer care access and outcomes.
- Developing strategies to identify unused resources, optimise regional capacity, and implement evidence-based solutions to expedite patient care.
- Expanding national audits and feedback mechanisms to drive quality improvement across the NHS cancer care system.
- Creating a dedicated unit to ensure effective treatments reach patients efficiently.
- Establishing specialised clinics for managing long-term complications and routinely collecting data on quality-of-life outcomes.
- Prioritising investment in the NHS cancer workforce alongside technological advancements.
- Diversifying cancer research funding to include areas beyond biopharmaceuticals, such as surgery, radiotherapy, and palliative care.
"Cancer care should be firmly placed back at the top of the political agenda; doing this could save thousands of people's lives a year – what could be more important than that?" Mark Lawler, a professor of digital health at Queen's University, told The Guardian.
"Without a dedicated cancer plan, cancer patients will die."
The Department of Health and Social Care acknowledges the problem of long waiting times and points to plans to increase the number of diagnostic scanners, including AI-powered models.
"Early diagnosis and treatment are vital for beating cancer. By doubling the number of MRI and CT scanners, and buying AI-enabled scanners which diagnose faster, we will catch illness earlier, and save lives," a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said.