Oncology is the branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and one of the largest therapy areas for pharmaceutical and medtech companies. In England, cancer services are shaped by the National Cancer Plan for England, published in February 2026, which aims for 75% of people to survive five years or more by2035.
The National Cancer Plan for England, published by the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, states that one in two people will develop cancer in their lifetime. Delivery runs through 20 Cancer Alliances, which plan and coordinate cancer care on behalf of Integrated Care Systems and will distribute £200m of ring-fenced cancer funding in 2026/27.
Performance is measured against three waiting time standards, consolidated from 10 in October 2023:
• the 28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard, from urgentreferral to diagnosis or ruling out cancer
• the 62-day standard, from referral to first treatment
• the 31-day standard, from decision to treat to treatment
In March 2026, provisional figures showed 79.4% against the Faster Diagnosis Standard and 72.8% against the 62-day standard, both short of that month's interim targets. The plan commits to meeting all three standards by March 2029.
New cancer medicines are appraised by NICE. Since 31 March 2026, NICE has applied a standard cost-effectiveness threshold of £25,000 to £35,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). The Cancer Drugs Fund, run in its current form since July 2016 with £340m ring-fenced each year, funds newly recommended cancer medicines from NICE's first positive recommendation. It also supports managed access, where a medicine is used for up to five years while further data are collected before NICE reappraises it.
Genomic testing is commissioned through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service and its seven Genomic Laboratory Hubs, using the National Genomic Test Directory. The National Cancer Plan extends circulating tumour DNA and other biomarker testing to more cancers by 2030, and commits £2.3bn over three years to diagnostics.
A positive NICE recommendation is the start of access in oncology. Uptake also depends on diagnostic and biomarker testing capacity, on how Cancer Alliances and Trusts design pathways, and on the workforce available to deliver new treatments. The new NICE threshold, the joint NICE and MHRA process set out in the plan, and the expansion of genomic and diagnostic services all shape how quickly a medicine or technology reaches eligible patients.
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