Blood cancer survival in the UK is overshadowed by that in other countries

There are over 100 different types of blood cancer, including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. The report includes new data from researchers at the University of Oxford showing at least 940,000 years of life were lost to blood cancer in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland over 10 years between 2009 and 2019. More than a third of these years lost – (330,675) - were people who died under the age of 65.

Drilling into the data, researchers found that survival varies by factors like social background. They found if everyone diagnosed with blood cancer in England had the same five-year survival of the most advantaged 20% of people, around 6,500 deaths could be avoided.

Additional insight in the report also shows disparities in blood cancer outcomes depending on geographic location and ethnicity.

Nick and Katrina Bromfield, from Canterbury, who lost their daughter Zoë at the age of 26 to acute promyelocytic leukaemia, said: "We lost our beautiful and vivacious daughter Zoë to blood cancer in 2019. Zoë had been feeling unwell for a couple of days and went to see a GP where she was treated for tonsillitis, but 48 hours later she suffered a brain haemorrhage caused by an acute and undiagnosed leukaemia of which she was totally unaware.

She was admitted to intensive care in a coma and died 25 days later without ever recovering consciousness. Her condition was not diagnosed until she was in hospital, by which time it was too late to save her.

“Blood cancers can be very aggressive and rapidly progress especially among otherwise healthy people, who are not aware of the symptoms and can shrug them off as something less serious. This is why it is so important to raise awareness of blood cancers and to train doctors to be on the lookout for tell-tale signs.

We passionately believe that greater awareness and earlier identification are the key to improving the chances of surviving blood cancer and of sparing other families from the trauma that we, our family, and Zoë's friends have experienced. Blood Cancer UK’s Action Plan is an important step in that mission."

Not only are those affected living through the unimaginable, in separate analysis, using international cancer registry data, Blood Cancer UK also found that blood cancer survival in the UK lags behind similarly wealthy nations for every type of blood cancer. For those with the blood cancer Hodgkin lymphoma, survival is more likely in the US, Canada, Australia as well as Lithuania and Ireland, compared to the UK.

Blood Cancer UK’s Action Plan, developed in collaboration with healthcare professionals, researchers, and individuals affected by blood cancer, recommends improvements in NHS workforce, early diagnosis initiatives, reducing barriers to access care, increasing access to treatments through clinical trials, and driving improvement through national data.

Speaking on the challenges and solutions related to the haematology workforce outlined in the report, Professor Adele Fielding, co-chair of the Blood Cancer UK taskforce and Professor of Haematology, University of York and Clinical Director of the Centre for Blood Research and Head of Experimental Medicine and Biomedicine, Hull York Medical School, said:

"We are all aware of the generic issues in the NHS which impact patients across all diseases. But for blood cancers in particular, the UK has started to fall behind the international standard in many and often very basic ways such as staffing levels, availability of new drugs and opening of new clinical trials.

Coupled with a dwindling pipeline of UK clinical academics to conduct new research, I fear things may get worse. Patients often ask me if they could get better treatment in another country or if they could pay out of pocket for better drugs.

I was proud of what we offered in the UK and I used to be able to reassure them they were always getting the best. That reassurance is often no longer possible.”

Sorcha Eastwood, MP for Lagan Valley, said:
"My family is currently dealing with the devastating impacts of blood cancer - my husband was diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma last year, and he's still undergoing treatment. As a Member of Parliament, I am determined to shine a light on this disease because so much more can be done. Blood cancer survival rates in the UK are not keeping up with countries of similar wealth and health. The UK Blood Cancer Action Plan provides us policymakers with clear recommendations to give everyone in the UK the best chance of surviving this disease.”

Speaking about the report, Blood Cancer UK’s CEO, Helen Rowntree said: “Considering the huge strides we’ve made in blood cancer research in the last 60 years, blood cancer is still the UK’s third largest cancer killer.

Needless lives are being lost and for those living with blood cancer there’s a real fear that they’re not getting the best care and support. The blood cancer community deserves better.

“The drivers of better survival in high-performing countries urgently need to be understood and implemented for those affected by blood cancer in the UK. Crucially our report, grounded in expert insight, outlines a series of recommendations to ensure people with blood cancer get the best possible care.

We’re confident that if government and policy makers come together to address our recommendations, we can make the UK a leader for blood cancer treatment for people no matter who they are or where they live.

Help us bring blood cancer out of the shadows and create a brighter future for people with blood cancer by writing to your MP and asking them to back our recommendations."