NHS cancer app sees limited use despite claims it could speed diagnoses

NHS figures suggest the Cancer 360 app, part of Palantir’s £330 million Federated Data Platform, is used by only a small number of trusts, despite claims that it can speed cancer diagnoses. Conflicting records about active users and which trusts benefited make it difficult to assess the app’s impact, and national improvements in diagnosis times cannot be attributed to it on the evidence provided.

NHS England reported five trusts using Cancer 360 in March 2026, then six in June; the later figures said five were benefiting but did not name them. In response to information requests, Chelsea and Westminster and Royal United Hospitals Bath were recorded as having no unique users in the previous year, despite earlier reports of successful pilots. East Lancashire Hospitals reported one user and said it was not yet live with the platform, while East Kent and Bedfordshire Hospitals said they had decided against adoption for operational reasons.