Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve outcomes for people with glioblastoma.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Brain tumours, including glioblastoma, remain one of the hardest to treat cancers. The Government is taking action to improve outcomes.

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.6 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In October 2025, a new nationwide trial exploring whether surgery can improve quality of life for patients when glioblastoma comes back after treatment commenced, backed by £1.98 million of NIHR funding.

Further to this, in September 2024, the NIHR announced new research funding opportunities for brain cancer research, including glioblastoma, spanning both adult and paediatric populations. This includes a NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, to ensure the most promising research opportunities are made available to adult and child patients and a new funding call to generate high quality evidence in brain tumour care, support, and rehabilitation.

The Government supports Scott Arthur’s Private Members Bill on rare cancers which will make it easier for clinical trials into rare cancers, such as glioblastomas, to take place in England by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers. This will ensure that the National Health Service will remain at the forefront of medical innovation and is able to provide patients with the newest, most effective treatment options and ultimately boost survival rates.

The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will set out targeted actions to reduce lives lost to cancers and improve the experience of patients, including for rarer cancers such as glioblastomas.