The National Cancer Plan must put people at the heart of new technology

Next week’s National Cancer Plan is set to land on World Cancer Day. Expectations are high, and rightly so. But if the Plan prioritises technology without equal focus on human behaviour, it risks widening the very inequalities it aims to reduce.  

What’s coming — and why it matters 

We already know many of the Plan’s headline themes: reducing regional inequalities, cutting latestage diagnoses, and deploying technology to improve survival. Recent announcements point to changes in the bowel screening FIT test threshold to catch more cancers earlier, new clinical and medical oncology training places targeting the largest workforce gaps, acceleration of AI tools, and a new NHS database of genes linked to cancer that lets people check their risk. These are important, ambitious moves.  

Tech only works when people trust and use it 

There’s enormous potential in health tech and NHS leaders are right to harness it. But every innovation depends on people: the clinicians who adopt it and the patients who engage with it. Without trust, clear communication, and supportive pathways, the best tools stall in practice. The Plan must treat behavioural research and service design as core infrastructure, not an optional extra – especially for communities already facing the steepest barriers to care. 

FIT screening: progress with a hidden risk 

Take the planned lowering of the FIT threshold for example. This is modelled to yield 36% more positive results and, over time, an estimated 867 fewer deaths from bowel cancer each year. Yet neither the NHS England announcement nor the underlying modelling paper from the University of Sheffield explicitly addressed how this change might affect groups least likely to respond to screening invitations, including people in more deprived areas and some ethnic minority communities. If we detect more cancers overall but don’t lift response rates among those who are least likely to take part, we risk widening the inequality gap. 

Symptomatic pathways: the GP access challenge 

It’s also encouraging to see rising use of FIT tests by GPs to quickly rule out bowel cancer in symptomatic patients. But we know that people living in areas of greatest deprivation often face poorer access to primary care, are less likely to present early with symptoms, and may feel less able to advocate for themselves. Unless we act on these humanlevel barriers, improvements to symptomatic pathways could again benefit those with the least friction and leave others behind.  

Make behavioural science a pillar of the plan 

There is good work underway on behavioural insights and inclusive design, but its scale and visibility still lag far behind investment in technology. The National Cancer Plan has an opportunity to close that gap by embedding behavioural science throughout: from invitation design and message framing, to pathway navigation support, to communityled approaches that build trust and agency. 

What good looks like 

• Equal emphasis on adoption as on innovation. Fund and measure behavioural interventions alongside tech rollouts: make uptake, equity, and user experience core success metrics. 

• Codesign with communities most at risk. Shape screening invites, reminders, and support with people from deprived and minority backgrounds, not just for them. 

• Primary care enablement. Invest in access, continuity, and advocacy support in GP and pharmacy settings so symptomatic pathways don’t leave anyone behind. 

A chance to get it right 

If the National Cancer Plan is to meaningfully reduce inequalities, behavioural science must sit alongside technology as a core pillar, not an afterthought. NHS and political leaders should seize this moment to back the human factors that make innovations work in the real world – for everyone.