24 June 2026

Experts have called for urgent action to address national cancer pathways, following the publication of a new report from King’s Health Partners and the South East London Cancer Alliance (SELCA), which revealed stark inequalities in lung cancer outcomes for people living with severe mental illness (SMI). 

Drawing on new data from south east London and lived experience insights, the report Addressing health inequalities: Improving early detection and diagnosis in lung cancer for people with severe mental illness in South East London,  finds that people with conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and psychosis face higher risk of lung cancer but are less likely to receive timely diagnosis and care.

Lung cancer prevalence is almost twice as high in people with SMI compared to the non-SMI population (0.17 per cent vs 0.09 per cent). Lung cancer represents the largest proportion of overall cancer burden among people with SMI, and people with SMI have a 64 per cent higher mortality risk following a cancer diagnosis. 

Recommendations from the report call for lung cancer pathways to be redesigned to better support people with SMI, including improving earlier diagnosis and improved monitoring, improved coordination between mental and physical health services, and better use of data to track outcomes for patients. 

Partners across south east London will now move into implement recommendations set out in the report, introducing more flexible and proactive appointment systems, embedding risk checks into routine physical health reviews, and strengthening integration between services.

Despite higher rates of urgent GP referrals, patients with SMI are less likely to be diagnosed through these routes, more likely to miss appointments, and more likely to be diagnosed through emergency pathways at a later stage, when treatment is less effective.

These disparities contribute to a wider pattern of premature mortality, with people with SMI dying 15–20 years earlier on average, often from preventable physical health conditions.

Greta Gillet, Expert by Experience, said: 

"Living with severe mental illness can make it much harder to recognise symptoms, attend appointments, and navigate care. Too often this means physical health issues like lung cancer are picked up too late.

"It’s encouraging to see a focus on earlier diagnosis and more joined-up, flexible services. There is still much more work to be done to ensure people with severe mental illness get the support they need in a timely way, but this is an important step towards giving people like me a fair chance of getting the right care at the right time."

Professor Matthew Hotopf, Executive Dean, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London and Deputy Executive Director, King's Health Partners said:

“People living with severe mental illness face some of the most persistent inequalities in physical health outcomes, and lung cancer is a stark example of this. This report shows that current design of health care pathways often fail to reflect the realities of living with mental illness, from engagement with services to navigating complex care. 

"As we expand screening and focus on earlier diagnosis, we must ensure mental health is not treated as separate, but fully integrated into cancer care, so that people with severe mental illness are no longer left behind.”

Dr Kate Haire, Clinical Chair, South East London Cancer Alliance, said: 

“Addressing these inequalities is both a clinical priority and a matter of fairness.  People with severe mental illness often experience delayed cancer diagnoses and face barriers to accessing timely care, and this report sets out practical steps to change that.

"By strengthening integration between mental and physical health services and focusing on proactive, patient-centred care, we can ensure that improvements in cancer diagnosis and treatment are delivered equitably for all.”

Prof Sean Whittaker, Co-Director for KHP comprehensive cancer centre, said: 

"This is a real exemplar of what King's Health Partners has been trying to achieve on it's Mind and Body Programme, and I think we are very confident that the collaboration between KHP and the SELCA, with who we work very closely, will likely provide the evidence that we can improve access and the models and the pathways that will be developed will help to define not only regionally what we need to do but also nationally to address inequalities in lung cancer for people living with severe mental illness."

The report sets out a clear and practical steps for system-wide change.  Partners across South East London will now move into implementation, testing new approaches such as assigning patient navigators, introducing more flexible and proactive appointment systems and embedding risk checks into routine physical health reviews. 

The ambition is to demonstrate how targeted, system-level change can improve early diagnosis, reduce avoidable deaths, and ensure national cancer goals are delivered equitably.

Read the full report on the Mind & Body resources pages.