GPs to use AI to help find rare cancers under new plan
GPs will be encouraged to use AI-driven tools to support clinical decision and pick up on patients who might have rare cancers, the Government has said.
In its new cancer plan, published today, the Government also said that every cancer patient will be given a ‘tailored support plan’ covering treatment, mental health and employment support.
By 2035, every cancer patient will also have a ‘named neighbourhood care lead’ responsible for joining up their care after treatment.
The plan has set out a target for 75% of patients diagnosed from 2035 to be cancer-free or living well after five years.
It said this would be achieved via ‘record investment in the NHS’, with a special focus on technology to aid diagnosis and treatment. Currently, 60% of patients survive for five years or more.
Meanwhile, a previous target to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage 1 or 2 by 2028 – set out in the 2019 Long-Term Health Plan for England – has been delayed by seven years in the new plan, to 2035 (by targeting a 20 percentage point improvement on 2019 levels, which stood at 55%).
It also mentions ‘additional support’ for GPs to identify rare cancers, as well as the use of AI tools.
The plan said: ‘We will help GPs identify rare cancers more reliably. GPs may only see patients with a specific rare cancer once or twice in their career. This makes diagnosis more difficult.
‘AI-driven clinical decision support tools and safety nets offer an opportunity to help GPs pick up on
patients who might be at greater risk. This will be reinforced by Jess’s Rule, which will encourage GPs to reflect, review, and re-think repeat symptoms that could indicate cancer.’
Patients will received a personalised plan ‘that looks beyond just treatment and diagnosis’ to cover the full impact of cancer on their life, from anxiety and fatigue to diet and returning to work, the Government added.
The plan said that the NHS will meet all cancer waiting time standards by 2029. The ambition comes as the NHS in England has not met the target of 85% of patients starting treatment within 62 days of referral since 2014 – it currently stands at around 69%.
The target for diagnosis within 28 days of referral is currently being met on average; however the 31-day deadline of treatment starting following the clinical decision being made is also being missed.
Although the plan is yet to be published in full, the Government said it would reach its ambition via a £2.3bn investment into more scanners, digital technology and automated testing, which it said will deliver an extra 9.5 million tests by 2029.
Other plans in the cancer strategy will include:
- Community Diagnostic Centres to operate 12 hours a day, seven days a week, ‘where possible;
- The number of robot-assisted procedures will increase from 70,000 to half a million by 2035;
- More patients with rarer cancers will have their care reviewed and treated at specialist cancer centres;
- New technology is being developed to give patients better access to tests for cancer by offering them the earliest available appointment from a range of NHS organisations in their local area.
As announced last week, the NHS will also launch widespread genomic testing for cancer. Around 120 cancer susceptibility genes will be covered in a central registry, which will include patients diagnosed with cancer who have been found to have inherited faulty genes, as well as patients found to have susceptible genes variants.
For people with changes in certain genes such as BRCA, they will be automatically invited to screening and offered routine tests for certain cancers, including breast cancer – and prostate cancer if the UK National Screening Committee confirms its draft recommendation for this screening strategy.
NHS England also announced last week that it is reducing the level at which traces of blood in a FIT test trigger further investigation for bowel cancer.
The Government also announced it will spend £200m over the next three years on boosting cancer screening uptake in deprived areas to tackle inequalities in mortality.
As part of the Neighbourhood Early Diagnosis Fund, schemes will target areas of the country where fewer people take part in testing.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘Cancer survival shouldn’t come down to who won the lottery of life. But cancer is more likely to be a death sentence in Britain than other countries around the world.
‘As a cancer survivor who owes my life to the NHS, I owe it to future patients to make sure they receive the same outstanding care I did.
‘Thanks to the revolution in medical science and technology, we have the opportunity to transform the life chances of cancer patients. Our cancer plan will invest in and modernise the NHS, so that opportunity can be seized and our ambitions realised.
‘This plan will slash waits, invest in cutting-edge technology, and give every patient the best possible chance of beating cancer.’
Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of The King’s Fund, welcomed an ‘ambitious, long-term plan with a clear set of priorities for the health and care system to work towards’.
However, she cautioned that ‘there are questions to be raised about how feasible the plan’s stated aim of hitting the cancer treatment standards, that have been regularly missed in recent years, is’.
‘Aside from additional funding for a faster rollout of lung cancer screening, the Government will have to deliver within the existing Spending Review settlement, and hope the economic outlook improves to secure future investment in the outer years of the plan.’
She also said ministers ‘will need to be careful that they don’t put the cart before the horse and ensure that they get the basics delivered swiftly too’.
‘Many hospitals still cannot share imaging or pathology results in a timely way due to old technology holding them back. Addressing this needs to receive as much focus as rolling out major new AI projects.’
And she warned of a ‘theme’ for this Government to be less ‘ambitious’ about prevention than technological solutions, with the King’s Fund having ‘hoped’ for more on tackling obesity, alcohol and physical inactivity within the plan.
Note: This article was updated at 08.28 on 4 February to correct an error conflating a survival and a diagnosis target.
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