There is a "huge opportunity" for pharmacists to play a greater role in the early detection of cancer and help cut mortality rates by 50 per cent over the next decade, experts have said.

Pharmacists should "step up" their efforts to raise public awareness about the disease, encourage patients to attend screenings and educate people about the early symptoms and treatments of cancer, said speakers at a seminar organised by the UCL school of pharmacy on Thursday (January 9).

Healthy living pharmacies had provided the "infrastructure" to extend pharmacy's range of services to include cancer awareness and cardiovascular disease prevention, said David Taylor, professor of pharmaceutical and public health policy at the UCL school of pharmacy.

Pharmacists should "step up" efforts to raise public awareness about cancer, said speakers at a seminar organised by the UCL school of pharmacy	More on cancer care Video: what more could you do about cancer awareness? Pharmacists trial breathalyser to test for lung cancer Skin lesion turns out to be cancer
	"The opportunity now is to extend the range of services in areas of cancer awareness, which for me involves taking medicines appropriately as well as other forms of access to care and testing," Professor Taylor told C+D. Increasing community services and pharmacists working alongside GPs and other healthcare professionals would be vital, he said.

However, it would only be possible for pharmacists to take on a "wider role" if this move was matched with sufficient funding, he added.

Jane Wardle, professor of clinical psychology at the UCL institute of epidemiology and health, said pharmacists could help halve bowel cancer mortality over the next 10 or 20 years by encouraging lifestyle changes. A "greater willingness" was needed by pharmacists to encourage the public to regulate their weight and take up a diet with more fibre and less red meat, she said.

Pharmacists should be placing posters in their pharmacies to raise awareness of the value of flexible sigmoidoscopy screening, which can detect and treat colorectal cancer at its early stages, Professor Wardle added.

"We need to make it our business to improve outcomes for the public for this distressing cancer," Professor Wardle said.

Paul Catchpole, director of value and access at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, agreed pharmacists could support greater cancer awareness and said they should engage with NHS England and cancer directors such as Sean Duffy, the national clinical director for cancer for NHS England.

Clinical reporter Pooja Sisodia brings news from the cancer seminar and questions David Taylor on pharmacy's role in this week's news blog.