Why was the recently published National Cancer Plan for England so keenly anticipated? It is not often a Whitehall policy document can attract such expectation. This was no doubt in part because it had been a long time coming. Nor was it a given.
Former health secretary Sajid Javid declared “war” on cancer on World Cancer Day, 4 February 2022, with a commitment to a nationwide plan. Over a year later, it had not appeared and was instead subsumed into a “Major Conditions Strategy”, which was also left unpublished. All the while, Northern Ireland (2022), Wales and Scotland (both 2023) had marched on with the development of their own plans.
Four years to the day after “war” was declared, we at last have an ambitious forward-looking plan for cancer care and services across England – and it is, for the most part, ambitious. Certainly, it is a clear signal that improving cancer outcomes remains a national priority for the forthcoming decade.
Why was it needed? The government is currently contending with a combination of rising incidence and mounting system pressures matched by rapid scientific progress. With around one in two people expected to receive a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime, the scale of the challenge demands renewed urgency and a plan to meet it.
At Daiichi Sankyo, an innovative global healthcare company, we have been developing our Accelerating Ambition campaign over the past few years to understand what an ambitious cancer system should look like through patients’ eyes.
Drawing on our roots as a Japanese company, our campaign is built on the principle of Kizuna – enduring bonds forged through mutual trust. We have brought together patient organisations from across the cancer community to develop a collective vision for the future. This vision is not about incremental change but about defining what good could truly look like by 2035.
We brought together these insights in The Next Ten: Accelerating Ambition in Cancer Care, which identifies priorities across research and development, early diagnosis and ongoing treatment. Its findings reinforce a clear message: the scientific tools to transform outcomes increasingly exist, but system barriers too often prevent patients from benefitting quickly and equitably.
As you would hope, the themes identified by the groups we worked with are reflected in the National Cancer Plan for England. What patient groups highlighted, and the Cancer Plan draws out as a priority area, is the need to revitalise the UK’s clinical trials ecosystem. Patient community voices consistently told us they want research to be a standard part of their treatment pathway, not an afterthought only available to some.
Not only do patients do better on clinical trials generally, but it also feeds the scientific progress of the future and bolsters the UK’s standing as a research hub. Therefore, the Cancer Plan’s commitment to strengthening clinical trials is not simply welcome, it is critical.
Second, the plan’s emphasis on genomic profiling aligns closely with the priorities identified in the The Next Ten: Accelerating Ambition in Cancer Care report. Precision medicine depends on timely, high-quality testing. Representatives from the cancer sector describe a future where whole genomic sequencing and biomarker testing are fully integrated into diagnostic pathways, and where screening programmes better support rare and less survivable cancers.
The plan’s focus on expanding and standardising genomic testing is ambitious in scale and responds directly to this vision. Investment in the kit and specialist workforce to deliver it must be priority number one. Building this infrastructure now will benefit patients in the near term as well as create a greenlit runway for the treatments of the future.
Finally, the shift towards personalised care reflects what patients told us they value most. Cancer does not affect people solely through tumours and treatments; it shapes their mental health, employment, finances and family life. By 2035, patient groups want a system where wellbeing support is delivered as standard by trained professionals. The future must see living with and beyond cancer as a central success measure.
The National Cancer Plan echoes this ambition. Delivering personalised care is a serious undertaking that will require structural change: integrated pathways, shared data and clear accountability across services. Daiichi Sankyo, as well as other life sciences companies and all partners from across the health sector, have a role to play in ensuring that the future of cancer care is individually tailored.
Cancer care in the UK is entering a new era defined by new approaches to diagnosis, medicine and data-driven care. The science is advancing rapidly and the National Cancer Plan sets out to meet that progress rather than simply react to events.
The crucial task now is to keep on track with delivering against this. Much of the plan’s action list runs to 2030, but what then? Building the pathways of 2035 needs to start in 2026.
Short-term goals must act as building blocks towards longer-term reform, with ambitions treated as iterative commitments, rather than a sequential checklist.
The National Cancer Plan has earned deserved, cross-sector support for its long-term ambition and clear commitment to keeping cancer at the forefront of government policy over the next decade. The task now is to sustain ambition, demonstrate tangible progress and ensure that every step forward remains grounded in the needs of the patients it exists to serve.
Disclaimer: This article has been developed and funded by Daiichi Sankyo.
UK/ONP/03/26/0001| March 2026
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