Nearly one in four cancer patients in England is diagnosed only when they arrive at hospital in an emergency, a national study suggests.
The National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN), which looked at data from diagnoses in 2007, found 23% of cases had been detected at that stage.
In the cases of acute leukaemia and brain cancer, half of cases were only discovered at a critical stage.
Cancer Research UK said more education was needed to recognise symptoms.
The NCIN report suggested those who were diagnosed only at the emergency stage were more likely to die within a year than those diagnosed earlier.
Harpal Kumar, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK, told the Daily Telegraph: "The figure for diagnoses via emergency presentations is way too high.
"This statistic helps explain why we have lower survival rates than we would hope to have, lower than the best countries in Europe.
We hope the government will seriously consider the best way to tackle this problem in their revised cancer strategy"
End QuoteSara HiomCancer Research UK
"We need screening programmes to be rolled out as early as possible and GPs given rapid access to the tests that will enable patients to be moved quickly through the system."
The survey suggested those on low incomes, elderly people and the under-25s were the most likely to be diagnosed at a late stage.
Only 3% of skin cancers went undetected until the emergency stage, compared with 58% of brain cancers.
Sara Hiom, director of health information at Cancer Research UK, said the late diagnosis levels were "alarmingly high".
She said: "We hope the government will seriously consider the best way to tackle this problem in their revised cancer strategy, which is due in the coming months."
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "We are committed to improving cancer outcomes. Earlier diagnosis is crucial to match the best survival rates in Europe."
Last December, government cancer tsar Professor Mike Richards said the NHS in England needed to get better at diagnosing cancers at an earlier stage if it was to continue to improve survival rates.
He called for a greater focus on one-year survival rates, an indication that cancer was spotted at a treatable stage.
Have you had cancer diagnosed at a late stage? What was your experience? What can be done to improve the UK's detection rate for cancer? Use the form below to send us your experiences and comments.
11 November 2010Last updated at 19:05 ETBy Nick TriggleHealth reporter, BBC News
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Peter Carter, Royal College of Nursing: 'In some trusts we're seeing a raft of ill-advised cuts'
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The NHS faces a period of job cuts, clogged hospital wards and rising waiting times, nurse leaders have said.
The Royal College of Nursing said patients should be concerned about the future - despite the health service escaping the worst of the cuts.
The union said it had identified almost 27,000 posts it believes are under threat in the UK and warned that services could suffer in the future.
But NHS chiefs said any savings being made should not harm patient care.
The NHS in England was one of only two areas of spending not to be cut in the recent spending review.
Instead, it was given the equivalent of 0.1% annual rises for the next four years once inflation is taken into account.
Ageing population
But the RCN said because of things like the ageing population and the rising price of drugs the costs for the NHS were rising at a much higher rate than that.
In recent months, the union has been asking for evidence of job cuts from its members as well as asking freedom of information requests and analysing board papers.
In July it reported 10,000 posts could go, but said this figure has now increased to 26,841, the majority of which are front-line clinical posts.
But the union said the true figure could be much higher as it was clear some trusts were not being transparent about their plans.
Peter Carter, general secretary of the RCN, said: "Right now, staff are not only concerned about losing their jobs, they are concerned about keeping services open and how they will cope if they stay.
The situation at South West Essex Primary Care Trust could be the shape of things to come.
The trust is extending waiting times for routine operations by up to eight weeks as part of a �56m turnaround programme.
It is restricting access to a long list of hospital procedures, including tonsillectomies, cataract and hip operations. And it is stopping most IVF treatment.
The PCT has announced more than 200 job cuts with more to come.
Chief executive Andrew Pike says the measures are needed to bring local budgets back under control.
He says waiting times for operations will fall again as services become more efficient.
Unison is sceptical. The union says the plan is bound to affect the quality of care and that staff will not accept the changes without a fight.
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"The public should be really concerned about the potential impact to the NHS. I predict waiting will rise. It won't be too long before people start asking what is going on."
He said the cuts to local government budgets could lead to hospitals not being able to discharge patients because social services will be too stretched.
He also questioned whether it was right to be trying to make savings at a time when the NHS in England was undergoing one of its most ambitious reorganisations - primary care trusts are being scrapped and GPs given control over local budgets.
He said this could be a "recipe for de-stablilisation".
NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson said staffing was a matter for local trusts.
But he added: "We have made it clear that efficiency savings must not impact adversely on patient care, and that every penny saved must be reinvested in support of front line services and improving quality."
The RCN also highlighted examples of waste that had been reported. These included issues such as TVs being programmed to come on when no-one is around to watch them and central heating malfunctions which mean they stay on all the time.
It even cited a rehabilitation clinic which had new wet rooms and height-adjustable baths installed at a cost of more than �60,000. Within months, services were moved and the facilities are no longer being used.
Shadow health secretary John Healey said: "This RCN report is an early warning of the strains that the NHS is under and looming problems for staff and patients."
BBC News website readers have been sending their reaction to this story. Here is a selection of their comments:
As a retired NHS nurse, my observations are that there has always been waste in the NHS. It is over-managed and over-specialised, with specialist nurses in every field but never actually of real value. As for the Royal College of Nursing they are all talk and no action. Cathy, Nantwich
Nursing professionals are probably in a better position to assess the impact of the funding freeze than any politician. This is another Con-Dem attempt to divert complaints and public anger away from central government, who implement policies at a local level where they have to adhere to it. Andrew, Birkenhead
Job cuts and NHS budgets are a real concern. I'm a third-year student nurse due to qualify at the end of this year and already having difficulty getting a job. One job I applied for, the post was withdrawn due to the funding for that job being cut. Adam, UK
With the cap on the amount trusts can earn through private patients being removed it means that as waiting times rise, those with money will be able to jump to the front of the queue as hospitals prioritise private patients over NHS patients. Once again, the poorer members of society are going to suffer the most. Alan McDermott, Worthing
If it is true that we are to lose vital front-line services, then this government should be put in the dock for defrauding the British public once again. As for Nick Clegg, he should hang his head in shame alongside Cameron for going back on their pledges. Geoff Shannon, Wirral
More than 20% of children tested showed signs of the bone disease rickets, Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust said.
Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Prof Nicholas Clarke checked more than 200 of the city's children for bone problems caused by a lack of vitamin D.
He was astonished by the results, which, he said, were "very reminiscent of 17th Century England".
Prof Clarke works for Southampton General Hospital.
He said vitamin D supplements should be more widely adopted to halt the rise in cases.
The crippling bone disease can lead to deformities like bowed legs as well stunted growth and general ill-health.
A lack of vitamin D can be caused by poor diets and insufficient exposure to sunlight, which helps the body synthesise the vitamin.
Prof Clarke said: "A lot of the children we have seen have got low vitamin D and require treatment.
'Middle class and leafy'
"In my 22 years at Southampton General Hospital, this is a completely new occurrence in the south that has evolved over the last 12 to 24 months and we are seeing cases across the board, from areas of deprivation up to the middle classes.
"There is a real need to get national attention focused on the dangers this presents."
He added that the "modern lifestyle, which involves a lack of exposure to sunlight, but also covering up in sunshine" had contributed to the problem.
"The return of rickets in northern parts of the UK came as a surprise, despite the colder climate and lower levels of sunshine in the north, but what has developed in Southampton is quite astonishing," said Prof Clarke.
"We are facing the daunting prospect of an area like Southampton, where it is high income, middle class and leafy in its surroundings, seeing increasing numbers of children with rickets, which would have been inconceivable only a year or so ago."
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