Case-mix adjusted percentage of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 in England, 2020

The policy area which is most likely to be influenced by these results is early diagnosis. The ‘percentage of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2’ indicator was developed to inform policy and to monitor the quality and effectiveness of interventions aiming to increase diagnosis at an earlier stage.

Users of the ‘percentage of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2’ indicator include government organisations, the NHS, local bodies responsible for commissioning cancer services, health policymakers, cancer charities, academics and researchers, cancer registries, the public, and the media. 

The data can be used to inform national cancer plans such as the 6 strategic priorities set out by the Independent Cancer Task Force. These include reducing Clinical Commissioning Group (now sub-ICB) variation and the ambition to increase 12 month survival to 75% by 2020 for all cancers combined. Building on this, the NHS Long Term Plan for cancer set a new ambition that, by 2028, the 75% of cancers will be diagnosed at stages 1 and 2, with the eventual aim that from 2028, 55,000 more people each year will survive their cancer for at least 5 years after diagnosis. 

Further, the unadjusted data can inform the Public Health Outcomes Framework.