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Building on the 10 Year Health Plan and the Life Sciences Sector Plan, today’s National Cancer Plan published by the Department of Health and Social Care recognises the vital importance of early detection, faster and more accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. These are three pillars that are essential to improving patient outcomes in a bid to ensure 75% of patients diagnosed from 2035 will be cancer-free or living well after five years; translating to 320 000 more lives saved over the lifetime of the plan. 

As the UK’s National Metrology Institute, NPL plays a unique role within the medical research and clinical ecosystem, already contributing to the three big shifts for healthcare delivery. Our experts provide the trusted measurement science and infrastructure that underpins advances across cancer prediction and prevention, detection and diagnosis, and treatment. From strengthening the evidence base behind the use of emerging technologies such as AI, to improving standardisation and confidence in clinical tools, our metrology enables researchers, clinicians, regulators and industry partners to accelerate innovation and deliver improved patient outcomes.  

For more than 100 years, NPL has worked across the healthcare ecosystem, providing the measurement infrastructure that supports the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Today our work supports innovation and advances in radiotherapy and AI-enabled diagnostic imaging, providing greater insights into the complex biological processes and systems that drive disease progression. It enables standards development, and accelerates innovation in the development of cutting edge cancer diagnostics and medical ultrasound. These areas have the potential to improve confidence in data and provide more intelligent diagnosis and treatment pathways through improved stratification and personalisation. These factors can support improved survival rates and address ‘hard to treat’ cancers, while reducing inequalities.   

The National Cancer Plan sets out a clear ambition: to detect and diagnose more cancers at an earlier and most treatable stage. NPL’s science and engineering capabilities, as part of the UK's National Measurement System, will support the delivery of this ambition by continued work with NHS trusts and clinicians, helping healthcare companies innovate and translate their technologies into a clinical setting, and ensuring safe and effective adoption that meets regulatory requirements, leading to improved patient outcomes.

Find out more here about our work in health