Visit the DATA-CAN website

One in two people will get cancer during their lifetime. Every year, almost 400,000 new cases are diagnosed in the UK and cancer costs the NHS around £7 billion annually. The number of cancer cases in the UK is projected to rise by around a third, to around 506,000 new cases per year by 2038-40.

Research has shown that using health data more effectively can help to drive the development of new cancer treatments, therapies and diagnostic services and improve cancer survival rates.

Health data collected by the NHS and other organisations is not always quick and easy for researchers to find, access and analyse. DATA-CAN works in partnership with data custodians in universities, charities, industry and NHS organisations to make high quality health data more accessible for cancer researchers, clinicians and other health professionals. The aim is to make it easier to conduct research into new treatments, identify opportunities for earlier diagnosis, give patients faster access to clinical trials and create new investment in UK healthcare.

About DATA-CAN

  • DATA-CAN is the UK’s Health Data Research Hub for Cancer. DATA-CAN’s vision is to unlock the power of health data to improve cancer care by:

    • Making high-quality health data more accessible for cancer researchers, clinicians and other health professionals via the Health Data Research Innovation Gateway.
    • Connecting data from across the UK and making it easier to find and use, facilitating research into new diagnostics, treatments and improvements in care and giving patients faster access to clinical trials.
    • Collecting and using real-time data to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on referral diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of patients with cancer, and develop informed solutions to help save lives in the long term.
    • Working with patients, the public and health professionals to make sure that data is used transparently and responsibly, and that the benefits are returned to the NHS and the wider UK community.

    Now hosted by The University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, DATA-CAN is a unique partnership of NHS organisations, patients, charities, academia and industry working across all four nations of the United Kingdom.

  • DATA-CAN works in partnership with data custodians in universities, charities, industry and NHS organisations to make high quality health data more accessible for cancer researchers, clinicians and other health professionals. DATA-CAN offers services to:

    By working together, in partnership with patients and the public, DATA-CAN ensures that health data is used responsibly and that the benefits of improved access to data for researchers are returned to the NHS and the wider UK community.

  • DATA-CAN’s core principle is that patients are active participants and leaders in all their work. They ensure this by:

    • Having an engaged patient and public involvement and engagement group to represent national ambitions
    • Giving patients influence across DATA-CAN decision making processes and as voting members of the board
    • Engaging with, and representing, the diverse cancer population of the UK
    • Engaging with existing patient advocacy champions
    • Recruiting patient and public participants in an open manner
    • Having a patient advocate/citizen lead on every DATA-CAN project
    • Developing and providing training for PPIE group members with partner organisations.

    DATA-CAN operates by the principles of transparency developed by the national patient group useMYdata. Patient and public members are proactively offered training to empower them in their role with DATA-CAN.