Accelerating Ambition in cancer care: why the next ten years must be transformative for the UK
As the government develops its National Cancer Plan, Daiichi Sankyo’s The Next Ten report urges policymakers to move beyond today’s challenges and embrace a bold, optimistic vision for the future of cancer care.
This article has been initiated and funded by Daiichi Sankyo.
Building a positive vision for the next decade of cancer care
Haran Maheson, Vice President Head of Oncology, Daiichi Sankyo UK
Haran Maheson, Vice President Head of Oncology, Daiichi Sankyo UK
As the government’s National Cancer Plan takes shape, Daiichi Sankyo UK has launched The Next Ten: Accelerating Ambition in Cancer Care, a new report developed in partnership with the patient group community that sets out a vision for how the next decade can – and must – deliver for people living with cancer.
We share the government’s ambition to ensure people live well with and beyond cancer. But achieving that goal requires more than fixing problems. With a long-term plan for cancer due to be published early next year, this represents a critical opportunity to demonstrate a shift in government mindset, from one that responds to crises to one that creates a positive vision of the future.
The Next Ten report is grounded in that optimism. It reflects a positive outlook from the patient group community on what is possible over the next decade, and calls on policymakers to take a more ambitious approach to what is possible for people living with cancer. Each area of the report contains ambitions for the next decade, rooted in the lived experience and expertise of the cancer community.
We collected insights from across the cancer community, and it is clear that, while real challenges exist in the sector, we also found hope and ambition. There is an opportunity to deliver more – not just when it comes to improving survival rates, but in striving for better quality of life, equitable access, and truly personalised care.
The Next Ten report brings together these insights and sets out a roadmap for how the UK can accelerate progress across three key pillars: strengthening research and development, improving early diagnosis, and ensuring more equitable access to innovative treatments.
The past decade has seen breakthroughs in each of these areas that should make us hopeful. Too often, the conversation focuses on the barriers to better cancer care, which rightly point out challenges involving workforce shortages and resource constraints across the NHS. But this report asks a different question: what if we designed cancer policy not just to overcome today’s challenges, but to fully realise emerging opportunities for the future?
From advanced diagnostic capabilities to world-leading research infrastructure, the UK is well-placed to drive forward this next era of progress.
Putting patient voices at the heart of cancer policy
Clive Jones, Member of Parliament for Wokingham
Clive Jones, Member of Parliament for Wokingham
The Next Ten report is a timely reminder that people living with cancer and the organisations that represent them must be at the centre of the UK’s next National Cancer Plan.
I am particularly struck by the report’s call for more personalised, holistic care. As more people live longer with cancer, we must look beyond treatment to the broader support people need to live well. The NHS faces pressures, but that cannot mean we stop striving for better. A forward-looking, patient-centred approach is essential if we are to deliver the improvements patients deserve.
As an MP and sponsor of the parliamentary reception launching this report, I have seen firsthand how much insight, expertise, and ambition exist across the cancer community. These are not abstract policy conversations; they are about real people’s lives. Policymakers have a responsibility to listen closely to the voices of those living with cancer and to design services that reflect their lived experiences.
Parliamentarians have a unique opportunity and responsibility to champion this more optimistic and ambitious approach. The National Cancer Plan will shape the next decade of care. MPs from across the House must play an active role in ensuring that policy reflects the lived experiences of patients and the practical insights of those delivering care.
A joint call to action: the government’s approach to cancer care must be forward-looking
The Next Ten report offers a hopeful, patient-centred blueprint for the future of cancer care. It recognises the real pressures on the NHS, but that we must also make space for ambition. Policymakers should use the National Cancer Plan and NHS long-term reform as an opportunity to shift the dial. If we want cancer outcomes to be meaningfully better by 2035, that work needs to start in 2025.
Parliament’s voice will be essential in translating these ambitions into reality. We encourage colleagues across the political spectrum to engage with this report and take forward its calls as part of a wider drive to make the UK a world leader in cancer care.
The next ten years could define a new era for cancer care in the UK. Let’s make them count.
UK/ONP/11/25/0002
October 2025
To read Daiichi Sankyo’s latest report, The Next Ten: Accelerating Ambition in Cancer Care, in full, please visit https://www.daiichi-sankyo.co.uk/about-us/who-we-are/about-us/who-we-are/accelerating-ambition/.
About Daiichi Sankyo: Daiichi Sankyo is an innovative global healthcare company contributing to the sustainable development of a society that discovers, develops and delivers new standards of care to enrich the quality of life around the world. With more than 120 years of experience, Daiichi Sankyo leverages its world-class science and technology to create new modalities and innovative medicines for people with cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases with high unmet medical need. For more information, please visit www.daiichi-sankyo.co.uk/
