Nearly 700,000 women across the country will take part in a world-leading trial to test how AI tools can be used to catch breast cancer cases earlier
Nearly 700,000 women across the country will take part in a world-leading trial to test how cutting-edge AI tools can be used to catch breast cancer cases earlier, the Department of Health and Social Care announced today (4th February 2025).
As government ramps up the use of new technology across the board, 30 testing sites across the country will be enhanced with the latest digital AI technologies, ready to invite women already booked in for routine screenings on the NHS to take part. The technology will assist radiologists, screening patients to identify changes in breast tissue that show possible signs of cancer and referred for further investigations if required.
Currently two specialists are needed per mammogram screening. This technology enables just one to complete the same mammogram screening process safely and efficiently. If the trial is successful, it could free up hundreds of radiologists and other specialists across the country to see more patients, tackle rising cancer rates, save more lives and cut waiting lists.
The EDITH trial (‘Early Detection using Information Technology in Health’) is backed by £11 million of government support via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
It is the latest example of how British scientists are transforming cancer care, building on the promising potential of cutting-edge innovations to tackle one of the UK’s biggest killers.
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women, with around 55,000 people being diagnosed with the disease every year. Currently, women between the ages of 50 and 71 are invited to be screened every three years to help detect cases. This equates to around 2.1 million breast cancer screens carried out by the programme annually, helping to prevent around 1,300 deaths.
The launch of the trial comes as cancer experts, people living with cancer, and medical professionals are invited to help shape the development of a new National Cancer Plan via the launch of a call for evidence, being announced later today by the Health and Social Care Secretary at an event hosted by Macmillan Cancer Support to mark World Cancer Day.
Every four minutes, someone in the UK dies from cancer and Lord Darzi’s recent investigation into the NHS found that cancer survival in this country is worse for some cancers than some similar nations.
The new plan to fight one of the UK’s major conditions could help transform the way we treat cancer, making the UK a world-leader in cancer survival by fighting the disease on all fronts, through improving research, diagnosis, screening, treatment and prevention. This includes investing in the latest technologies to address rising cancer cases, recognising the vital role they’ll play in tackling the disease.
This government is taking the necessary steps to ensure that NHS patients will be among the first to benefit from cutting-edge medical innovations, such as the technology being tested in the EDITH trial, catapulting the service from analogue to digital to cut waiting lists and make it fit for the future, as set out in the government’s 10 Year Health Plan.
Members of the public, as well as NHS staff and experts, have already been invited to share their experiences, views and ideas for fixing the NHS via the Change NHS online platform, which will help shape the government’s 10 Year Health Plan. The results of this consultation will support the development of the National Cancer Plan.
This closely follows the AI Opportunities Action Plan, which has put the UK on course to revolutionise public services and become an AI superpower – already attracting over £14 billion in investment since launching just last month.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting said:
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Chief Executive Officer of the NIHR said:
Due to be published later this year, the National Cancer Plan will set out targeted actions to reduce lives lost to one of the biggest killers, continue improving survival rates, and improve the experience of patients along their cancer journey.
It will also include specific actions for rarer cancers such as those affecting children.
To support this work, the government has re-launched the Children and Young People’s Cancer Taskforce, with Dame Caroline Dinenage and Professor Darren Hargrave appointed as its co-chairs, alongside Dr Sharna Shanmugavadivel as vice-chair.
The taskforce will bring together the country’s top experts to set out plans to improve treatment, detection, and research for cancer in children, which will feed into the National Cancer Plan.
NHS national clinical director for cancer Professor Peter Johnson said:
Britain is a global leader in the development of advanced therapies, with a strong academic and life sciences industry, and was the first national health system in Europe to commission CAR-T cellular therapy for blood cancer patients.
Now, alongside the National Cancer Plan, a new UK Collaborative for Cancer Clinical Research is being launched to provide coordination, target investment, and maximise opportunities for the UK to lead in clinical research. This will help to unlock innovation and growth.
Hosted by the Association of Medical Research Charities, the Collaborative will support charities to convene expertise from across the cancer research landscape, to identify strategic priorities and cross-cutting areas of unmet need.
Science Minister Lord Vallance, and Health Minister Baroness Merron will see first-hand how charities, academia, industry and the NHS working hand-in-hand to support research is leading to breakthroughs for cancer patients, on a visit to the Royal Marsden Hospital today.
Their Sutton cancer hub is hosting MANIFEST, a research project jointly led by the Francis Crick Institute, looking to better-target immunotherapy as a treatment of cancer. The Government announced £9 million funding for the project, in October.
Science and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, said:
The government has committed to fixing the NHS and making it fit for the future as part of its Plan for Change.
Last week, the government pledged to speed up diagnosis and treatment for tens of thousands of cancer patients. From March 2026, around 100,000 more people every year will be told they have cancer or not within 28 days and around 17,000 more people will begin treatment within two months of a diagnosis.
This comes as part of new targets from NHS England confirming four out of five patients would receive a diagnosis or be given the all-clear within 28 days of a cancer referral – an increase to 80% on the current target of 77%.
The move will ensure that those with cancer are given the best chance of survival through earlier diagnosis and access to treatment.
It will also bring the government closer to achieving all of the cancer waiting time standards set out in the NHS Constitution, some of which haven’t been met since 2015.
For more information on how to contribute to the call for evidence for the National Cancer Plan, visit gov.uk.