NHS Tayside is treating cancer sufferers within the specified national time frame, figures released yesterday show.

Just over 93% of all reported urgently referred patients diagnosed with cancer between October and December last year were treated within 62 days of their referral.

NHS Fife has a figure of 92.2% of all urgently referred patients seen within the 62- days period.

Each of the mainland health boards treated more than 90% of cancer patients within the time frame.

The latest figures show a national increase in the number of cancer sufferers being treated within the required time—up from 91.6% between July-September 2007.

When broken down locally, the figures show that 98% of patients with breast cancer and 91.7% of ovarian cancers in Tayside were treated within 62 days of urgent referral for the Tayside area.

Figures for Fife show that 96.2% of patients with breast cancer and 100% of ovarian cancer sufferers were treated in that period.

More than 80% of Tayside-based patients with head and neck cancers were treated and over 93% of patients diagnosed with lung cancer in the area were also seen.

In Fife 100% of head and neck cancer patients were treated and 92.3% of lung cancer patients were seen.

The quarterly cancer waiting times statistics for January-March 2008 are due to be published in August 2008, but initial indications reveal a national 62-day urgent cancer referral-to-treatment figure of 96.3%.