England's Cancer Diagnosis Performance Hits Two-Year Low Amid Missed Targets
New figures released for January 2026 show that a greater share of patients in England waited longer for a cancer diagnosis than at any point in the last two years, marking a significant setback in healthcare performance. Both diagnosis and treatment time targets have been missed for the first time in four months, raising concerns about the effectiveness of recent government initiatives.
Diagnosis Delays Worsen
In January, more than a quarter of suspected cancer patients, specifically 27.2%, waited longer than four weeks to receive a diagnosis. This exceeds the NHS target, which stipulates that no more than 25% of patients should experience such delays. This performance represents the worst in two years and the first time the target has been missed since September 2025. The last instance of worse waits occurred in January 2024, when 29.2% of patients faced delays beyond four weeks.
Since that peak, performance had shown improvement, with the target being met in 17 out of the 24 months leading up to January 2026. However, the total number of patients diagnosed in January 2026 was 267,700, a slight decrease of 0.4% compared to the same period in January 2025. During that earlier month, the target was also missed, but to a lesser extent, with 26.6% of patients waiting beyond the four-week threshold.
Treatment Time Targets Also Missed
The data further reveals that NHS England failed to meet its second cancer target, which aims for no more than 15% of patients to wait longer than two months to start treatment following an initial cancer referral. In January 2026, a staggering 31.6% of patients waited longer than two months for treatment, more than double the target maximum. This figure increased slightly from 28.1% in the previous month.
Notably, the treatment time target has never been met in recent comparable records, which date back to April 2022. Historical data from 2014/15 indicates that only around 17% of cancer patients waited more than two months for treatment at that time, highlighting a concerning trend of increasing delays over the years.
Overall NHS Waiting List Declines
Despite the challenges in cancer care, the overall NHS waiting list fell for the third consecutive month to 7.25 million appointments in January, reaching its lowest level since February 2023. The share of people treated within the 18-week target remained steady at 61.5%. It remains uncertain whether the NHS will achieve its goal of increasing this rate to 65% by March 2026.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting commented on the broader improvements, stating, "Waiting lists are at their lowest level for almost three years, and more people are getting treated within 18 weeks. Despite record demand this winter, A&E and ambulance services improved, meaning patients are getting help faster when they need it most, thanks to the hard work of NHS staff, better planning, and modernisation." He added, "But we won't take our foot off the gas. We'll keep cutting waiting times, backing NHS staff, and making sure patients get the high-quality care they deserve."
This report comes amid the government's recent publication of a National Cancer Plan for England, which includes a pledge that the NHS will meet its cancer waiting time targets by 2029. The latest figures suggest a move in the wrong direction, underscoring the urgency of addressing these systemic issues in the healthcare system.
