Postcode lottery for new cancer treatments, doctors warn

Senior cancer doctors are warning that excessive red tape means some patients in England are struggling to access the latest cancer treatments.

The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) says bureaucracy is "stifling innovation" and that applying for funding to pay for new treatments can be "cumbersome" for some cancer centres.

It says the situation is leading to an unacceptable postcode lottery with some cutting-edge treatments only available in the larger, better-funded units.

The government says a new cancer strategy, due later this year, will "put the NHS back at the forefront of global cancer care".

Survival rates for many common cancers have been rising, partly driven by new technologies such as immunotherapy drugs and more advanced radiotherapy.

But the body representing both radiologists, who analyse scans and treat patients, and cancer doctors says that NHS bureaucracy means some are missing out on the latest life-saving treatments.

The RCR says that even some well-established advances, such as Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy - or SABR - can still be difficult to access.

SABR is a way of more accurately targeting the disease with a precise dose of high-strength radiation, and is typically used to treat very small tumours in the lungs, liver, lymph nodes and brain.

The RCR says individual cancer units still have to apply to NHS England to fund its use, leading to a postcode lottery where some patients lose out.

"That is inequitable and unjust and not compatible with the National Health Service," says Dr Nicky Thorp, a practising cancer doctor and vice president for clinical oncology at the RCR.

"We would like red tape to be cut and the commissioners to listen to clinicians who really understand the impact on patient care," she added.

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Source: BBC News, 11 September 2025