With nearly half of oncologists on the brink of quitting and a quarter regretting their career choices, the world is hurtling towards a cancer workforce crisis, experts have warned.
Staff shortages combined with increasing cancer rates and an aging population could overwhelm healthcare systems as early as 2050, a new commission has revealed.
The ‘sobering’ report, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, in Chicago, predicts the biggest shortfalls will be in nursing and diagnostic staff – resulting in longer waits and potentially substandard care.
Demand for care is already pushing hospitals across the UK to their limits – with some patients being treated in A&E corridors and reports of dying patients left parked outside nurses’ stations.
The report – published in the Lancet Oncology – highlights a shortfall of up to 100 million cancer care workers worldwide by 2050.
Experts are now calling on governments to dramatically increase the number of specialist staff – by implementing national cancer plans; investing in technology and education; and providing adequate funding for these long-term efforts.
It comes as cancer rates continue to climb, with a worrying number of under-50s now being diagnosed with the devastating disease.
As it stands, 35 million people are predicted to be diagnosed with cancer every year by 2050, the equivalent of almost 100,000 diagnoses every single day.
The workforce crisis comes amid a predicted 21 per cent increase in cancer cases, the report says
‘Cancer is considered a silent pandemic, with 35.3 million cases and 18.5 million deaths projected to occur annually worldwide by 2050,’ the commission wrote.
Studies have shown that around a fifth of oncologists have already left clinical care over the past decade.
In a comment piece on the findings, Dr Julie R Gralow, said: ‘This commission presents a stark analysis of an impending global health catastrophe, underscoring a crucial reality: the global cancer burden cannot be effectively addressed without a robust, well-trained, and evenly distributed workforce.’
Speaking at the conference, co-author of the report, Professor Mark Lawler added: ‘What we’ve uncovered is shocking.
‘We can’t wait until 2050 to see if our projections are correct – we must act now.’
Experts worldwide are now grappling with how to stop the crisis from worsening, calling on governments for clearer plans, combined efforts and adequate funding.
Matt Sample, the senior health policy manager at Cancer Research UK, said health services in the UK are ‘already struggling to keep up with demand’.
‘If the UK is serious about achieving world-leading cancer outcomes, a step change in how we plan and invest in our cancer services is needed,’ he said.
‘That means growing and supporting the workforce, expanding diagnostic capacity, and building a system that can meet future demands.
‘The UK Government’s upcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan needs to provide investment for additional specialist staff, otherwise people affected by cancer will continue to be let down.’
Diagnosing everyone with the disease is already proving difficult – with one in three patients undiagnosed worldwide.
And while treatments are improving, experts say screening frameworks are not evolving in parallel, with officials ruling just this week that the harms of screening for prostate cancer outweigh the benefits.
There are also concerns about what Labour’s plans to cut ‘unnecessary’ appointments could mean for cancer patients.
Government and NHS rules require GPs to seek specialist advice before referring patients to hospital, where it is clinically appropriate to do so. But GPs warn that specialists are downgrading cancer referrals to A&G, creating a risk of missed diagnoses.
While experts agree that prevention is key – and that officials should continue to promote healthier diets, regular exercise and stop smoking campaigns – they say urgent action to tackle the workforce crisis is essential.
‘As global life expectancy rises and conditions are managed as chronic rather than terminal illnesses, more people worldwide are living long enough to face a cancer risk,’ Dr Peter Kingham, the director of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s global cancer research and training programme and report co-author, said.
‘This demographic shift is not a failure – it reflects remarkable progress in global health, but it demands an equally ambitious response in cancer care.’