Cancer improvement & earlier diagnosis
The CfSD Cancer Improvement & Earlier Diagnosis Team works collaboratively to improve outcomes for Scotland’s cancer patients, by diagnosing cancer earlier & faster.
The Team lead the Scottish Government’s flagship Detect Cancer Earlier (DCE) Programme that aims to reduce later stage disease (stages III and IV) by 18 percentage points by 2033. The Programme has a focus on reducing the health inequality gap, particularly those from areas of deprivation.
The Team also works closely with Health Boards to embed the Framework for Effective Cancer Management (FECM) and improve cancer waiting times performance.
A range of toolkits have been developed to support these programmes – encompassing the most up to date evidence with best practice examples from across NHS Scotland:
- The Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer support primary care clinicians in identifying patients who are most likely to have cancer and therefore require urgent assessment by a specialist. A clinical review was undertaken in 2024, with latest urgent suspicion of cancer (USC) referral criteria published August 2025.
- The Framework for Effective Cancer Management incorporates 10 elements that must be considered when planning cancer services and considering user experience, to help NHS Boards achieve national cancer waiting times standards.
- The Optimal Cancer Diagnostic Pathways provide gold standard skeleton models to deliver effective and efficient diagnostic pathways, setting ambitious time frames for each step. This toolkit also contains the Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDS) Implementation Guide, which provides Boards with the tools to establish a fast-track diagnostic pathway for those with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancer.
The Team focuses on the patient journey from symptom awareness and primary care presentation, through the diagnostic pathway, up the point of diagnosis (cancer being ruled in or out). Meanwhile, NHS Scotland’s Cancer Collaborative (formerly Scottish Cancer Network) lead on the development of Optimal Clinical Management Pathways that cover the patient journey from diagnosis through to follow-up or end of life care.
Further information on the Cancer Improvement & Earlier Diagnosis Team's work can be found on the CfSD website or by reaching out via cfsdcancerandedteam@nhs.scot.
