'We've seen progress before - now is the time to act again and make a difference for cancer patients'

AS PROJECTIONS SHOW 6.3 MILLION CASES COULD BE DIAGNOSED BY 2040, A COALITION CALLS ON THE GOVERNMENT TO MAKE ENGLAND A WORLD LEADER IN TACKLING CANCER

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MORE than six million new cases of cancer could be diagnosed in England between now and 2040, charities have warned.

This is the equivalent of a person being diagnosed with the disease every two minutes, analysis suggests, up from every four minutes in the 1970s.

The projection by a coalition of 60 cancer charities, known as One Cancer Voice, comes as it calls on the Government to meet a number of measures such as setting early diagnosis targets and introducing strong prevention policies to ensure England is a world leader in tackling the disease in the coming years.

The research by One Cancer Voice suggests there have been 5.5 million cases in the last 15 years.

New figures suggest there will be a 14.2 per cent increase in the coming 15 years, with around 6.3 million cancer cases expected by 2040.

Regionally, the South East could see the biggest rise in diagnoses, with more than one million cases between now and 2040, the study claims.

This is followed by the North West, with 865,000 cases, the East of England and the South West, with 722,000, and London with 714,000.