The government is set to increase funding for the treatment of cancer patients.

Health secretary Alan Milburn announced on Tuesday that the government will increase money for treatment by an extra £87.5 million over four years. The money will be targeted on treating cancers of the stomach, pancreas and oesophagus. A further £20 million will be spent on fighting heart disease.

The government is aiming to increase UK survival rates, currently well behind the rates of the US and the rest of Europe.

The extra cash will be announced alongside plans to streamline the way cancer care is organised. The shake-up in care is the result of a report by nine groups of NHS managers and consultants. It highlights nine pilot projects where massive reductions were made in the time taken to return test results and patients were "fast-tracked".

Milburn said: "We need the investment going in making sure that we have got the most up to date equipment, we have got more cancer doctor and more cancer nurses. But we have also got to have some reforms to the way that cancer care is delivered. There is a long way to go, but we are making some progress."