NHS England on track to miss key cancer treatment target by 10,000 patients

Exclusive: 2,850 more patients a month would need to be treated within 62 days to meet March 2027 goal, as experts warn of failure of leadership

Nearly 10,000 more cancer patients in England will not be treated on time because the government will fail to meet its targets, amid a failure of leadership, focus and resource, experts have warned.

The NHS set an interim target to treat 80% of cancer patients within 62 days of urgent referral or consultant upgrade by March 2027. But with little more than 100 days to go, the proportion of patients starting treatment on time in September was 70.7%, down from 71.9% in August, NHS figures show.