Survival rates among cancer patients are significantly lower in the UK than in any other country in the developed world, a new report has claimed.

The study, published on Tuesday by Datamonitor, says that a lack of awareness and effective screening programmes mean that patients in the UK are more likely to be diagnosed when the cancer has already reached late stage.

It also warns that cost concerns mean that the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) has blocked moves to make the most effective new therapies readily available on the NHS.

UK patients are diagnosed later than their European and US counterparts, says the study.

Delaying diagnosis till this late stage renders traditional early stage therapies such as surgery, which offer the best hope of a cure, almost useless and patients are left with no option but to undergo debilitating chemotherapy as a last resort, says the report..

Datamonitor believes that part of the problem lies in the fact that there is still a worrying lack of awareness amongst the general public about cancer.

Despite many people ultimately fearing the disease, many remain unaware of the symptoms of the illness and as such are failing to visit their GP for help.

Whilst this has improved dramatically in the case of breast cancer, where campaigns to heighten consumer awareness have been very high profile, cancers such as colorectal and prostate still receive very little media attention and patient awareness is small.

Awareness campaigns for cancers such as prostate or colorectal cancer in the US have increased the number of patients seeking early diagnosis and this in turn has positively affected the survival rate.

Screening procedures are not as routine in the UK, thus more patients slip through the net, says the report.

Whilst screening for cervical and breast cancers is now almost routine in the UK, there is currently no provision in place for the routine screening of any other cancer type.

The report says that the "implications of this are potentially fatal".

"Patients are only diagnosed when the disease is well advanced, and significantly harder to treat," says the report.

"Given the high cost of administering such huge screening programmes and the limited budget that the NHS has, we are unlikely to see any significant change in this process in the near future."

Kyung Lee, oncology analyst at Datamonitor, said: "Low spending on healthcare expenditure by the UK government has significantly contributed to poor survival for cancer patients in the UK, rendering this rate amongst the lowest in the developed countries

"The lack of funding has meant that not only is there low-level spending on cancer drugs and treatment facilities, but also insufficient cancer specialists who can provide best care for these patients."