A cancer charity has said it is "disappointed" a target for patients to begin treatment has been missed by some of Scotland's health boards.

Six of the country's 14 boards failed to hit the standard for getting at least 95% of patients with a suspicion of cancer to their first treatment within 62 days of referral from the period April to June.

Overall, the national average was below the target at 92.1% - up slightly from the 91.9% in the previous quarter when four boards met the standard.

Elspeth Atkinson, director of Macmillan Cancer Support in Scotland, said: "We are disappointed that the waiting times have been missed again.

"Survival rates for cancer in Scotland trail the rest of Europe and it is vital that we hit the treatment targets across the country."

However, a second target to ensure 95% of all patients wait a maximum 31 days from decision to treat to their first treatment was met.

NHS Grampian and NHS Highland were the only two boards to fall short of the standard at 92.7% and 94.5% respectively, but the national picture was 96.3%, according to official statistics.

The figures, published by ISD Scotland, show the average wait was six days, and 90% of patients waited 27 days or less.

The Scottish Government recently announced £4 million of additional funding to help health boards improve cancer waiting times.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: "Prompt cancer treatment is vital and that's why we have set rigorous standards in this area. I am pleased to see that the 31-day standard continues to be met, and that the average wait is only six days once a decision has been made to treat.

"This is despite the fact that an ageing population and improvements to screening and diagnosis has led to a significant increase in the number of people being diagnosed with cancer. We have also seen substantially improved survival rates, which is to be welcomed.

"However, although we have seen a slight improvement in performance against the 62-day standard, there is still substantial work to be done.

"Waiting times against 62 days have reduced from early 2007, when only 84.5% of patients were treated within this time, but we are absolutely committed to supporting boards to reach the challenging 95% standard we have set."

A breakdown of the figures reveals three of the 10 cancer types successfully met the 62-day target - they were breast (97.5%), lymphoma (96.2%) and ovarian (97.1%) - while nine met the 31-day target.

Scottish Labour MSP Dr Richard Simpson said: "Waiting times aren't some inconvenience for patients, the longer a patient waits to start treatment the more stressed they will grow.

"This target has not been met for nearly three years - that simply isn't good enough.

"The SNP Government in Edinburgh have squeezed spending on our NHS harder than even the Tories in England. The result is missed targets, stressed families and overworked staff. Our NHS deserves better than this."