A hospital trust could face a police investigation over allegations staff were "pressured or bullied" into falsifying data relating to cancer patients.
A number of cancer patients suffered "undue delays" at Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said.
CQC inspectors found that there were "inaccuracies" with waiting time data relating to cancer treatment.
Staff told inspectors they were put under pressure to change data relating to patients and their treatment to make it seem like people were being treated in line with national guidelines, a CQC spokesman said.
As a result some patients may not have had the treatment they needed in time, he added.
The watchdog has passed its findings to Essex Police - and Professor Sir Mike Richards, the newly appointed Chief Inspector of Hospitals, has recommended the trust is placed into special measures.
The trust has offered to review the treatment of 30 patients Essex Police confirmed it had been contacted by the CQC and said it was reviewing the information to establish whether to launch a criminal investigation into the matter.
When CQC inspectors visited the trust in August and September they found discrepancies in the records and types of treatment recorded for some cancer patients.
Of the 61 care records examined, 22 showed that people had been "placed at risk of receiving care that was unsafe or not effective, due to delays in receiving appointments or treatment".
In some cases people did not get their treatment within the required 62 days, and in three cases delays exceeded 100 days.
Even though an internal trust investigation in 2012 identified concerns, hospital bosses failed to investigate the allegations thoroughly or follow up with the patients who were affected, the watchdog said.
The trust has written to 30 patients, or their next of kin - where patients have died, offering to review their treatment.
Chief executive Dr Gordon Coutts said: "We are truly sorry that in some cases cancer patients, their carers and families have not always received the high quality of care that they should have expected from our trust. We sincerely apologise to those who we have let down."
Essex Police is considering whether to launch a criminal investigation He reassured patients and the wider public that the trust was taking action to address all of the concerns raised by the CQC.
"Our priority remains to focus on the safety and well-being of all our patients and being placed in special measures would provide us with additional advice and support to help us to further improve our services."
Christina McAnea, head of health at union Unison, called for a "full and thorough investigation".
"Our members took a brave step by reporting to the CQC that they were being bullied and harassed by senior managers to falsify records relating to cancer patients," she said.
"They raised their concerns repeatedly and in emails to senior managers, right up to the chief executive, but they were ignored."
Dr Peter Carter, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, said its representative in the area was branded a "fantasist" for raising concerns.
He told Sky News: "This is a hospital that the RCN has expressed serious concerns about over the last couple of years, and I wish the hospital management had taken our concerns seriously and it might have prevented what has been revealed."
Prof Richards said: "It is shocking to think that people's lives may have been put at risk for the sake of the waiting time figures.
"Every year around six thousand people go to Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust to be treated for cancer. It is essential that people in north Essex can have confidence in their hospital."
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