Fewer than six in ten people diagnosed with cancer in England after an urgent referral received their diagnosis within the government’s 28-day target over the past year, according to new analysis from Cancer Research UK published on 12 November. The charity found that 55.4% of people who went on to be diagnosed with cancer heard within 28 days, against a target of 80% under the NHS Faster Diagnosis Standard.

The figures, which cover October 2025 to September 2026, show that progress for people who turn out to have cancer has almost stopped. The 55.4% figure is up by only 0.4 percentage points on the previous 12 months, leaving a gap of 24.6 percentage points from the target. Cancer Research UK said that if the 80% target had been met since it was raised from 75% in March, around 25,400 people would have received their results sooner.

A gap that is barely closing

The picture is very different for people whose cancer is ruled out. Over the same 12 months, 79.1% of people who had cancer ruled out received that result within 28 days, an improvement of 1.1 percentage points on the previous period. The charity said the contrast showed that people who ultimately receive a cancer diagnosis were being left behind, even though diagnosing cancer is more complex than ruling it out.

The government has committed to meeting the 80% target by March 2029 in its National Cancer Plan for England, which was published in February. The latest quarterly data, for July to September 2026, was published on 12 November, and Cancer Research UK’s analysis compared the most recent 12 months of data with the same period a year earlier.

Charity calls for urgent action

Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said waiting to find out whether you have cancer or not can be agonising, and warned that delays to diagnosis risk delays to getting vital treatment. She said the figures showed that people who receive the devastating news of a cancer diagnosis were not finding out quickly enough, on top of the emotional strain of the wait itself.

The charity is calling on the government to make improving cancer waiting times a high priority for the health service, with an increased focus on ensuring people with cancer receive a diagnosis sooner. It wants a commitment to the staff cancer services need in the long-awaited 10 Year Workforce Plan, and for the new National Cancer Board to have a clear mandate to scrutinise action on waiting times and hold the government to account if there is not enough investment in NHS staff and resources.