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To mark last month’s World Cancer Day, a new plan was unveiled by the UK Government to help tackle the impact of cancer across England.

Wes Streeting, the Health and Social Care secretary, announced the National Cancer Plan for England at an event organised by Macmillan Cancer Support, a leading cancer-focused UK Charity.

As part of the Plan, a new trial is being launched across the country that is utilising AI tools to diagnose breast cancer cases earlier. In the announcement, Streeting noted that the trial is expected to include over 700,000 women. The trial is indicative of the goals of the plan – by leveraging new technologies and medical advancements, the UK Government hopes to increase rates of cancer diagnosis and, by extension, prognosis.

Also announced was a new initiative to boost clinical trials in the UK – the UK Collaborative for Cancer Trial Research. This initiative is hosted by the Association of Medical Research Charities, which includes the World Cancer Research Fund.

Dr Giota Mitrou, World Cancer Research Fund’s executive director of Research and Policy, stated: “Around 40% of cancer cases can be prevented by making our lives and the environment we live in healthier. We therefore warmly welcome the UK Government’s consultation on the National Cancer Plan for England and commitment to publishing the Plan this year. Marking a pivotal opportunity to shift the dial from sickness to prevention, the Government must ensure the Plan is truly transformative and achieves a step change in cancer prevention so that more people can live free of cancer.”