Lead author Dr Oliver Kennedy, Clinical Lecturer at The University of Manchester and The Christie said was an “urgent need” to improve detection and care.
He added : “We already know that people with a learning disability face poorer health outcomes, but the burden of cancer in this population is poorly understood.”
Principal Investigator Prof Darren Ashcroft from The University of Manchester added people with a learning disability “frequently encounter barriers to healthcare access, such as communication difficulties and diagnostic overshadowing, where clinicians might attribute new symptoms to an existing diagnosis”.
Jon Sparkes OBE, chief executive of learning disability charity Mencap, said the NHS “must do better”, adding : “It’s unacceptable that late diagnosis and lack of urgent referral for treatment is costing people with a learning disability years of life.
Annabell Downey, supported is by Mencap in Hexham, Northumberland, and who has terminal cancer, said she saw her doctor “countless times” before she was diagnosed after complaining of back pain.
“I struggled to convey that sometimes I’d be fine, other times I’d be curled up in agony,” she said.
The Department for Health and Social care also said: “This government inherited a health system in crisis and we’re working at pace to improve cancer care, including for people with learning disabilities.
“But we know there is more to be done, which is why we’ve introduced the life-saving patient safety initiative Jess’s Rule supporting GPs to catch serious conditions earlier.”