All head and neck, ovarian and urological cases were treated on time and only the treatment of lymphoma showed a large dip below the required rate at 85.7%.

Meanwhile, the picture was less rosy across the Tay with NHS Fife failing to meet the government target. Only 91.3% of cancer sufferers were treated within the specified time frame.

Although all urgent breast, colorectal and lymphoma cases were treated within the specified time frame, this was not the case across the board.

Head and neck cancers had the worst treatment record, with only 71.4% being treated within two months. Treatment times for lung, melanoma, upper gastro-intestinal, ovarian and urological cancers also failed to make the grade.

But a spokeswoman for NHS Fife today pointed out nine out of 10 patients are being treated within the target time and pledged to make efforts to improve on areas of concern.

She added, “The overall performance of NHS Fife over the last year in delivering the 62-day cancer patient referral to treatment target shows improvement but there is still more to do.

“NHS Fife is working on known problem areas and continues to monitor and manage all cancer waiting times on a weekly basis to address the issues as they arise.”

Across Scotland there was an overall improvement in performance recorded. In total, 93.5% of urgently referred patients diagnosed with cancer began their treatment within 62 days of initial referral.

But health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said, “We're almost there but improvements still need to be made to ensure the target is being met in full in every board across Scotland.”

Cancer specialists have already urged the Scottish Government to drop the focus on targets, saying these place too much pressure on audit staff.

The claim, made in an editorial of the Scottish Medical Journal, also said the 62-day target did not reflect the different ways each cancer type needs to be approached.

A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said, “We are delighted to have achieved the cancer waiting list times target and are constantly improving our services to ensure patients across Tayside receive the best possible treatment and care.”