A quarter of people diagnosed with cancer after going to A&E in London with symptoms are dead within two months, according to new research.

The figures from London Cancer, which brings together services in hospitals in north-east and central London and west Essex, are stark but reflect the reality for patients diagnosed at a late stage of disease, when the cancer has probably spread.

Those who see a GP with their concerns and are diagnosed promptly are far more likely to survive than those who ignore them until they become a medical emergency.

The researchers found that across nine acute trusts running A&E departments between January and August 2013, average survival among 963 patients diagnosed with cancer was less than six months and only a 36% were alive beyond a year.

Younger people survived more months than older patients. Half of those under-65 had died by 14 months, whereas among the 65-75 year-olds, half had died within five months and only a quarter made it past a year.

The author of the study , Prof Kathy Pritchard-Jones, said: “These shocking figures hammer home what we already know to be true: early diagnosis can make a huge difference in your chances of surviving cancer.

“Around a quarter of all cancer cases are being diagnosed following presentation in A&E and the vast majority of these are already at a late stage, when treatment options are limited and survival is poorer. And many of the patients diagnosed through A&E have other health conditions that may complicate their treatment.

“We need to find ways to diagnose patients earlier, and through managed pathways. This is crucial to improving the UK’s cancer survival to the standard of comparable countries.”

The findings were presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) cancer conference in Liverpool. Chair of the conference, Prof Charles Swanton, said the problem was not confined to the capital city. “Emergency presentation is a challenge across the country – not just in London – and is a complex problem that may reflect a myriad of different factors,” he said. “Initiatives driving scientific, medical and societal advances in early diagnosis will be central for us to achieve world-class cancer survival in the UK.

“Too many people are still diagnosed in hospital A&E departments and that must change if we’re serious about having the best cancer survival in the world,” said Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK. “ We’ve made good progress during the last seven years. But these figures show much more needs to be done to give patients the best chance of surviving their disease, regardless of their age or where they live.”

A second study at the conference found that 20% of girls from ethnic minority backgrounds are not getting vaccinated against the human papilloma virus (HPV) which causes cervical cancer. It is offered to schoolgirls aged 12-13. They or their families felt it was not appropriate to have the vaccine because HPV is sexually transmitted and they felt they were not at risk.

More than 2,000 girls were given questionnaires in the study run by CRUK, asking whether they had been vaccinated and if not, why not. Among the reasons they gave were: ‘Because I am not sexually active and will not be until I get married’ and: ‘My Mum didn’t think it was necessary for me to have the vaccine since I won’t be sleeping around’.

“These are worrying findings,” said Swanton. “The HPV vaccine is safe and simple – and stopping HPV infection can help protect against cervical cancer developing. So it’s crucial we find out what’s stopping girls from defending themselves against the disease. Providing more information to both girls and their parents on the safety of the vaccine and addressing the perceived lack of need for it is the first step.”