An NHS trial will check women aged 50 to 70 for breast cancer using AI and could ‘help beat cancer once and for all’.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has unveiled the “landmark” AI trial which the Government hopes could supercharge routine screening for the disease. Around 700,000 women already booked in for routine breast cancer scans at 30 testing sites will participate and have their scans analysed for early signs of tumours.
It comes after analysis of NHS data showed half a million cancer patients waited too long for treatment in the last decade. The Government launches its cancer plan today to coincide with World Cancer Day.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2001 after it was picked up by a routine scan when he went into hospital to have a kidney stone removed, said: “As a cancer survivor, I feel like one of the lucky ones.” Shortly after being given the all-clear he said: "I just count my lucky stars, really. I've lost a kidney but I've also got rid of the cancer. No chemotherapy, no radiotherapy."
Speaking to the Mirror before the launch of his cancer plan, Mr Streeting said: "After surviving kidney cancer in 2021 I was lucky enough to experience the best of the NHS. That’s why I am so proud that UK scientists are leading the fight by creating the technologies that will help beat cancer once and for all.
"Take the world-leading EDITH trial which will test how artificial intelligence could help NHS radiologists spot cancer earlier, save lives and help tackle those long waiting lists. Right now it takes two clinicians to every x-ray as part of a breast screening. AI could cut that workload in half by safely supporting one clinician to check the x-ray. That means freeing up thousands of doctors across the NHS to see more patients.”
NHS breast cancer screening involves a routine mammogram - an X-ray of the breast - and is offered to all women registered with a GP between the ages of 50 and 71, every three years. The new £11 million EDITH trial (Early Detection using Information Technology in Health) will use latest machine learning programmes to assist radiologists screening patients to identify changes in breast tissue that show possible signs of cancer.
Currently two specialists are needed per mammogram screening but this technology enables just one to do it. If successful the Government says the trial could free up hundreds of radiologists and other specialists to see more patients and slash cancer waits.
Mr Streeting added: “With cutting edge trials like this part of our National Cancer Plan we are finally making inroads on gripping this terrible disease. We will only turn the NHS around by doing things differently. That means making the modern switch from analogue to digital, and working with our brilliant academics and life sciences sector to win the battle against cancer.”
Women whose scans are flagged by the AI trial will be invited to see a specialist for further investigations. Professor Lucy Chappell, the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, said: "This landmark trial could lead to a significant step forward in the early detection of breast cancer, offering women faster, more accurate diagnoses when it matters most.”
It comes after NHS data, analysed by Radiotherapy UK, showed that during the last decade 506,335 cancer patients in England waited more than the maximum 62 days for treatment. The NHS standard is that at least 85% of patients will start treatment with this two-month maximum - but this has not been met any month since December 2015. Last month it stood at 69%. Research shows that every four weeks of delay in cancer treatment increases the risk of death by up to 10%.
The Darzi report in September concluded cancer care in Britain still lags behind other countries and cancer death rates are higher. Despite medical advancements, it found there was "no progress whatsoever" in diagnosing cancer at stage I and II between 2013 and 2021.
Dr Katharine Halliday, president of the Royal College of Radiologists, said "Given the volume and complexity of breast screening, if AI is found to be safe and effective it could make a major impact on radiology. However, this is a rigorous study that will take time to yield results. With a projected 40% shortfall in consultant radiologists by 2028, the need to build radiology capacity remains urgent."
The cancer plan comes after NHS England scrapped the target to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage 1 or 2 and the health secretary. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the Government could not commit to meeting national cancer targets by the end of this parliament.
Mark Lawler, professor of digital health at Queen's University Belfast and chair of the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership said: "I'm at a loss to understand why we are so unambitious and are setting ourselves up to fail when the lives of so many patients are at stake. Thousands more patients will die unnecessarily unless the cancer plan gets to grips with treatment delays urgently. Without timely treatment, all we're doing is adding more patients to growing waiting lists while their cancer progresses.
“The data does not lie - we're lagging behind significantly in our efforts to beat cancer. We need the political will behind a supercharged cancer plan to save thousands of lives. Fifteen years ago, Denmark lagged behind on cancer, as we are now, but an ambitious cancer strategy turned it around. We need to do a Denmark.”