Overview

The NHS Cancer Programme Innovation Open Call was developed by the NHS Cancer Programme in 2021 in order to support the NHS Long-Term Plan’s (LTP) ambition for improving cancer care outcomes and services in England. The key ambitions are:

• by 2028, 75% of people with cancer will be diagnosed at an early stage (stages one or two); and,
• by 2028, 55,000 more people each year will survive their cancer for five years or more.

Diagnosing cancer at an early stage increases chances of survival as it means patients can receive treatment when there is a better chance of achieving a cure.

Since 2021, 14 projects have been awarded funding via our calls. You can read more about these projects here.

A briefing webinar will be held on Tuesday 6 February 2024, 3pm-5pm. Sign up here.

Scope

The NHS Cancer Programme is looking for innovations or new approaches that will diagnose cancer earlier and increase the proportion of cancers that are diagnosed at stage one or two.

The NHS Cancer Programme is committed to tackling health inequalities. Individuals living in the least deprived areas have consistently had a higher rate of early cancer diagnosis than those living in the most deprived areas (Nuffield Trust, 2023). It has been calculated that if all inequalities in early diagnosis for the ten solid tumour sites relating to sex, age, and deprivation were removed, there would be a fourpercentage point improvement in national early diagnosis rates (Barclay, M. E. et al, 2021).

The NHS Cancer Programme is seeking innovations that will support efforts to address these health inequalities and all applicants are asked to consider the impact of their innovation on health inequalities.

Eligibility

This section provides information on the types of innovations that are eligible for this Open Call. Please refer to the challenge brief for more information on the specific types of projects that are eligible.

The Cancer Programme Innovation Open Call is open to all types of innovations, including but not limited to, medical devices, in vitro diagnostics, digital health solutions, behavioural interventions, software, artificial intelligence, or new models of care. The competition welcomes innovations in the broadest possible sense, as long as they are supported by a commercial strategy and there is a clear intention for market scale up or adoption.

The priority for this call is diagnosing cancer early at stages one or two, but the NHS Cancer Programme will also consider applications for innovations which reduce the proportion/absolute number of people diagnosed at stage four. Innovations can be tumour specific or multi-cancer. Applications that address specific tumour sites where early diagnosis rates are poorest, and applications from multi-cancer innovations which could have a bigger impact on early diagnosis rates, are particularly welcome.

Potential solutions
The NHS Cancer Programme is implementing an ambitious six-pillar early diagnosis strategy to deliver on the LTP stage ambition (see Figure 2 below). This strategy has been underpinned by work to estimate the potential impact of different interventions or acting at different points in the pathway on early diagnosis.

Applicants will be expected to articulate how their innovation contributes to the early diagnosis strategy.

Delivering programmes and activities which support earlier diagnosis requires diagnostic and other capacity within the system. Innovations which support risk stratification or triage, to identify and prioritise those who stand to gain from urgent suspected cancer referral and those who do not, thus supporting
diagnostic and pathway efficiency, are also included within the scope of this call.

The NHS Cancer Programme are looking for proposals that support:

Identifying and testing asymptomatic patients who are most at risk. This includes:
a. Innovations that proactively case find and/or risk stratify populations for whom there is no current NHS screening programme.
b. Innovations to more effectively target, improve uptake/adherence, or reduce unwarranted variation in NHS screening, including Targeted Lung Health Checks.

Encouraging early symptomatic patients to notice health changes and present to primary care or other appropriate services. This includes:
a. Innovations that proactively case find those with early signs and symptoms associated with risk of cancer.
b. Innovations to improve awareness/vigilance of the signs and symptoms of cancer (including vague or non-specific symptoms), particularly for those cancers, or specific populations, where early presentation is still very low.
c. Innovations that encourage patients to seek health advice, including in specific populations that typically under present.
d. Innovations that support ongoing engagement and completion of diagnostic pathways (can also apply to screening pathways).
e. Innovations that support timely and effective referrals from primary care or create new ways into the system through community care settings (i.e., community diagnostic centre).