The National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative in England: assembling the evidence Introduction

A National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative (NAEDI) has been established in England as part of the Government's strategy to improve cancer outcomes. One of the early priorities for this initiative has been to assemble the diverse evidence linking late diagnosis with poor survival and avoidable deaths. This supplement brings together new perspectives on existing research in this area together with findings from recently commissioned research. This paper describes a provisional model, the 'NAEDI pathway', for testing hypotheses relating to late diagnosis and its impact. Key findings from other papers in this supplement are also highlighted. British Journal of Cancer (2009) 101, S1-S4. doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6605382 www.bjcancer.com (C) 2009 Cancer Research UK