Cost of cancer to soar by two thirds in next decade

The £5.9bn increase will hit the NHS, private and voluntary sectors hard as Britain's population continues to age and may result in falling survival rates. According to Bupa's Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment: A 2021 Projection report, the average cost of treating a cancer patient is set to hit £40,000, up from the current £30,000. At present, the national Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) which decides whether drugs and procedures should be made generally available on the NHS does not recommend treatments which cost more than £20,000 to £30,000 per quality-adjusted li...