Britain facing cancer timebomb with number of victims to soar by a third by 2020

Britain is facing a cancer time bomb, with the number of victims forecast to rise by a third by 2020.

A Government report estimates that by then, 299,000 cases of cancer per year will be diagnosed - up from 224,000 in 2001.

Half of all these cancers will be caused by entirely preventable causes such as smoking, overeating and too much sunbathing.

And while survival rates are getting better, the rate of improvement is far slower than in other European countries.

A five-year Cancer Reform Strategy was launched by Gordon Brown and his Health Secretary, Alan Johnson.

It came as ministers admitted that England has one of the worst records for cancer survival in Europe because patients are denied access to wonder drugs freely available in other countries - including Scotland.

They ordered their rationing watchdog to ensure that NHS patients have 153,491 people died of cancer in Britain in 2005 access to cancer drugs more quickly after it emerged that they receive only 60 per cent of the medication available in countries such as France and Germany.

The strategy announced that:

Cancer patients who need radiotherapy will receive it within 31 days by the end of 2008.

Every cancer unit will have a modern "digital mammography" scanner, which is better at spotting breast cancer in young women.

Screening for breast and bowel cancer will be extended.

The Government will look at toughening regulation on sunbed use, reflecting fears that it is causing massive rises in skin cancers.

Ministers will consider banning cigarette vending machines and restricting tobacco displays in shops to crack down on lung cancer.

The report warns that the huge increase in cancer diagnoses by 2020 will be largely because of the effects of an ageing population and better treatment for other conditions, so patients are surviving who would not previously have done so.

In 2004, 16 per cent of the population was over 65, and this is expected to be greater than 20 per cent by 2020.

Mr Johnson said: "Clinicians, patients and cancer charities tell us that cancer care has improved significantly in the last ten years thanks to investment and reform, but I am determined to go further.

"I want to build world-class cancer services that give NHS patients access to top quality treatment at every stage."

The Government has told the drug regulator NICE that it should start evaluating cancer treatment at the same time as the European authorities are deciding whether it should be licensed.

And ministers will keep tabs on the organisation to ensure that English patients are not missing out on drugs available abroad - and in Scotland.

Since devolution, a number of drugs denied in England have been approved north of the border, where NICE's remit does not run.

Currently, NICE usually waits until a drug is licensed before appraising whether it is costeffective - a decision which can take a year to reach.

From now on, NICE will begin to assess all cancer drugs at the same time as it is applying for a licence to ensure the drug is available on the NHS as soon as possible.

NICE chairman Professor Sir Michael Rawlins said: "We are aware of the need for timely advice on the use of new medicines for life-threatening conditions such as cancer, and we welcome the recommendation."

The report reveals that spending per capita on cancer services is still low in England when compared with other European countries, at £80 against £121 in France and £143 in Germany.

It says England spends 5.6 per cent of its public health care budget on the disease compared with 7.7 per cent in France and 9.2 per cent in the U.S.

It admits that too often there is a "postcode lottery" of access to cancer drugs, especially before NICE brings out its guidance and primary care trusts are able to make their own decisions.

And it says there is too much regional variation in spending on cancer care, with the proportion of a primary care trust overall spend on cancer ranging from 3.6 to 9.1 per cent.

Conservative health spokesman Andrew Lansley said: "Despite Conservative warnings about the unfairness of funding for cancer services across the country, Labour continue to discriminate against areas with a greater number of older people."

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb said: "This new strategy is put at risk from the Government's inability to secure value for money in the NHS.

"Money has been poured into our cancer services, yet our survival rates are still lower than the European average.

"The sad truth is that too much investment has been wasted on organisational upheaval and top-down bureaucracy."