Independent task force unveils five year plan to overhaul cancer services in England

An extra 30 000 patients could survive cancer for 10 years or more by 2020 if a new five year strategy was fully implemented in England, says an independent cancer task force. Of these patients, around 11 000 would survive longer through earlier diagnosis.

The task force, established by NHS England in January 2015, has set out six strategic priorities, including an emphasis on prevention and a renewed focus on early diagnosis.1 It said that the recommendations would cost an estimated £400m (€570m; $620m) a year but that investment in these initiatives would permit savings in coming years.

The wide ranging 90 page report calls for Public Health England to work with the government to improve public health. It calls for a new tobacco control strategy in …