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Beating cancer is no longer a far-off dream, it is becoming a reality thanks to the rapid scientific advances now available in the NHS.

The Government’s new Cancer Plan to be published on Wednesday states that by 2035, three in four cancer patients will beat cancer.

Our survival rates currently lag behind several European countries including Romania and Poland and figures reveal someone is now diagnosed every 75 seconds in the UK.

To become a global leader in cancer survival requires innovations to be developed, adopted and spread at pace – in data, AI, genomics, robotics and wearables.

At Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber, cancer has always been a major focus and we welcome this clear roadmap to delivering the transformation which is much needed to propel the UK into a world-leading position in cancer care.

One of the home-grown innovations we have supported through its development and adoption is the PinPoint test, developed by Leeds-based SME PinPoint Data Science. This is an example of a game-changing use of AI, identifying those with the greatest risk of cancer for prioritisation, using a single blood test in primary care.

Giles Tully, CEO at PinPoint Data Science, says: “The National Cancer Plan comes as validation of the work so many UK health tech innovators are doing – quietly building the tools to future-proof our NHS.

“It’s these often-small companies that form the backbone of UK life sciences, so expanded funding for new technologies promises to unlock a wave of homegrown potential, solutions created with and for the NHS. At PinPoint, our AI upgrade to blood testing promises fast, affordable and accessible cancer testing in primary care.

“This deceptively simple technology supports faster, better-informed decision making when symptoms first present, reducing delays in referral and diagnosis – a go-to tool for GPs in support of Jess’s Rule.”

Another locally adopted innovation is the Lucida Pi™ tech, an AI-enabled solution to support same-day prostate cancer diagnosis for which we helped to secure £2.9 million in SBRI funding.

The funding will support implementation of the innovation in up to 15 hospitals in partnership with the Cancer Alliances of West Yorkshire and Harrogate, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, East of England, and Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire.

Leeds is the first of the selected NHS trusts to implement the technology through a same day diagnostic clinic, and our role is to lead the patient and public involvement and engagement, ensuring real-world evaluation reflects patient experience and supports trusted adoption.

A consultant interventional radiologist in Leeds succinctly describes the Pi-enabled prostate diagnostic pathway as “MRi in the morning, biopsy in the afternoon”.

We sit on the boards of Yorkshire and Humber’s three Cancer Alliances, providing expert input on horizon scanning and the adoption and spread of impactful innovations; and supporting annual innovation funding competitions.

Together with the Alliances and with our partners across all sectors, we will accelerate innovation in what the Cancer Plan announces to be a ‘new era of partnerships and collaboration’.

Patient power is a golden thread in delivery of the Plan, with the NHS App becoming a dashboard of digital therapeutics and direct access to tests and self-referral.

As we found in our pilot project with Virgin Media O2 helping high street shoppers to access and use the NHS App, there is a digital divide which needs to be bridged so that we don’t leave some of the population behind in this health tech revolution.

Narrowing the gap between the haves and have-nots in terms of equal access to healthcare is another golden thread in our innovation support, so that everyone who is most in need can access the latest and best tech in diagnostics and treatment.

In Yorkshire and Humber we have the expertise, the innovation, the infrastructure – and the UK’s truly strongest partnerships to take a collective lead on beating cancer.