BTOG has published its formal response to the UK Government’s newly announced 10-Year National Cancer Plan for England, welcoming its ambition while highlighting areas requiring greater clarity and investment.
BTOG strongly supports the Plan’s commitment to the full roll-out of lung cancer screening by 2030 and the continued focus on early detection. However, the organisation has called for uniform integration of smoking cessation into screening programmes and greater recognition of the additional diagnostic and treatment capacity that will be required downstream.
While the Plan emphasises prevention — including proposals such as a generational smoking ban — BTOG notes the absence of stronger emphasis on smoking cessation at the time of cancer diagnosis, an intervention known to improve lung cancer outcomes and reduce overall healthcare burden.
As a national multidisciplinary organisation, BTOG welcomes the focus on reducing regional inequalities in access to cancer care, supported by initiatives such as the National Lung Cancer Audit and new metrics on emergency cancer diagnoses. However, the response highlights limited reference to the role of primary care in delivering integrated cancer services.
BTOG also raises concerns about whether current funding commitments will be sufficient to meet ambitious cancer waiting time targets by 2029, particularly given existing bottlenecks in imaging, biopsy access, molecular testing and workforce capacity in lung cancer services.
The organisation supports innovation in areas such as clinical trials acceleration, digital transformation and MDT reform, but calls for clearer implementation detail and assurances that academic research will be fully supported alongside commercial studies.
