BIVDA welcomes today’s announcement of a new NHS campaign which encourages the public to get tested early if they fear they may have cancer. BIVDA and our member companies have long supported efforts to increase awareness of the positive benefits associated with the early diagnosis of disease for patients. We, as the UK’s IVD trade association, have been running our own campaign to reduce public hesitancy around health check-ups and appointments for chronic illness management during the pandemic. We will continue to support this message of a safe return to diagnostic screening, in line with the NHS’s capacities in addressing the care backlog.

As this newly announced NHS campaign states, not only will getting tested put individuals’ minds at ease but, if something is indeed wrong, it is more likely there will be a successful outcome than if they had waited. This campaign also ties in with the NIHR’s £161 million funding boost for early-stage clinical research in Clinical Research Facilities (CRFs) , which will play a key role in developing cutting-edge treatments and significantly help in the fight against cancer in the future.

BIVDA Genomics Working Party Chair, Dr Philip Beer, said: “When diagnosed early, cancer is often more amenable to treatment and may be curable. Recent years have witnessed significant progress in the development of new types of tests for the early diagnosis of cancer. Bringing together these exciting innovations form the commercial sector with the NHS’ unparalleled ability to deliver is central to the on-going fight against cancer.”

NHS data has shown that a cancer diagnosis is the greatest health fear for the majority of the population. BIVDA hopes that a greater focus on testing, early diagnosis and research investment will be a huge step towards taking away some of that fear experienced by millions of people across the country.

ENDS

For more info on BIVDA and our companies’ work on cancer diagnostics, please contact pressoffice@bivda.org.uk