UK cancer survival rate no better than Slovenia

Thousands of cancer patients are at risk because NHS care is still lagging behind the rest of Europe, ministers will admit today.

The UK is near the bottom of the European cancer survival league - despite ministers' pledge seven years ago to bring us up to the top.

Survival rates are on a par with countries such as Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, even though health spending is three times as high as in Eastern Europe.

The Tories say the failure of the NHS Cancer Plan to improve survival rates claims 35,000 lives a year.

Today ministers will say they hope to improve the position by banning vending machines and putting restrictions on sunbeds. They will also admit that many people die because they are denied quick access to radiotherapy.

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Shortage of staff and equipment mean four million patients wait more than a month for the tumourshrinking treatment - even though delay can dramatically reduce their chance of survival.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson will today allocate £130million to cut waiting times to a month.

Experts say half of the 230,000 new cancer cases every year could be avoided by lifestyle changes such as eating, drinking and sunbathing less. A study has revealed a chemical produced by frying, roasting or grilling food can double the risk of cancer in women.

But Professor Karol Sikora, professor of cancer medicine at London's Imperial College, said NHS waste was also to blame.

"We now spend more per person on cancer than any other European country," he said. "However, we don't seem to get value for money. We are at the bottom of the league tables on access to diagnostics, time to first treatment, availability of radiotherapy and access to innovative drugs.

"We have funded managers to deal with targets while in France, Germany and Italy that bureaucracy does not exist."

The report will suggest tougher rules on sales of cigarettes, with a ban on vending machines, to furcigarettether cut lung cancer. There will also be new controls on tanning salons.

Malignant melanoma - a type of skin cancer brought on by excessive tanning - is Britain's fastest rising cancer.

Experts are particularly concerned about coin- operated salons.

The five-year plan will also look at tackling the postcode lottery over treatment, and speeding up the time it takes for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to approve drugs.

Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said last night: "There is still some way to go before everyone receives the best possible care.

"It is vital that every one of the important recommendations in the strategy are implemented swiftly and effectively - ensuring real benefits for patients and saving even more lives."

The report will hail improvements in survival rates for some cancers, but says more needs to be done on others, such as lung and pancreatic cancers.

Tory spokesman Mark Simmonds said: "The Government has had seven years to implement its cancer strategy but it has not delivered.

"It has failed on early identification and diagnosis. Not enough has been done to prevent the disease, and the Government's plundering of public health budgets has restricted prevention even further.

"What is saddening is that if the UK achieved European-best levels then 95 lives each day could be saved.

"Conservatives have said we would scrap targets, which only measure one part of treatment. This will help ensure that patients in the UK get the same quality of service as those in the rest of Europe."