Pancreatic Cancer

Debate between Nicholas Dakin and Jane Ellison

Thursday 15th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Nic Dakin]

I thank the Minister for everything she has said to date. On the issue of a public awareness campaign on pancreatic cancer, is there a way in which those with pancreatic cancers could engage with that body to see if there is a way forward?

[Jane Ellison]

If I recall my diary correctly, I have a meeting with Sean Duffy coming up, and I would be happy to raise that issue with him, along with any other points arising from this debate. It will certainly be on my agenda for discussions with him. I have touched on the matter briefly with him before, but I will pick it up again.

The problems with late diagnosis have been explored before, and it is critical that we get people the most appropriate treatment early. We have discussed radiotherapy before. It can be a very helpful treatment for some patients. As part of its recent announcement, NHS England committed a further £15 million over three years to evaluate and treat patients with a modern, more precise type of radiotherapy— stereotactic ablative radiotherapy or SABR, as the hon. Gentleman mentioned. That evaluation programme will mean a significant increase in the number of cancer patients eligible to access this treatment by around 750 a year, and the programme will widen the number of cancers being treated by SABR, including cancer that has spread to another part of the body.

The new investment is in addition to NHS England’s pledge to provide up to £6 million over the next five years to cover NHS treatment costs of SABR clinical trials, most of which are being led by Cancer Research UK and one of which—as the hon. Gentleman knows from our debate last September—relates to pancreatic cancer. As for the hon. Gentleman’s suggestion regarding commissioning through evaluation, I shall raise it with NHS England. I am afraid that we do not yet know which centres or how many patients will take part in the trials to assess the effectiveness of SABR in comparison with conventional radiotherapy or surgery, but I understand that we are likely to have that information in the coming weeks. I will certainly make the decision-makers involved aware of the debate, and of the interest in the outcome of their deliberations.

NHS England’s chemotherapy clinical reference group has set out service specifications defining what NHS England expects to be in place to enable providers to offer evidence-based, safe and effective chemotherapy services. NICE has issued technology appraisal guidance which recommends Gemzar as an option for treating patients with advanced or metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas who meet certain clinical criteria. NICE is also appraising a number of new drugs for pancreatic cancer. NHS commissioners are legally required to fund treatments recommended by NICE in its technology appraisal guidance.

Understandably, the cancer drugs fund has been mentioned this evening. The Government’s reasons for establishing the fund are well documented. At the end of August 2014 it received an additional £160 million, and I welcome the announcement on 12 January by NHS England, which is now responsible for the fund’s operational management, that it too would provide extra money. The CDF panel has decided that further consideration of Abraxane for the treatment of pancreatic cancer is needed, and it will remain on the national CDF list until that has been concluded. I am not yet sure about the timings, but I will undertake to update the all-party group, including the hon. Members for Scunthorpe and my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood, in due course.

Let me now say something about NICE appraisals. Representatives of the Department, NICE, 10 key cancer charities and the pharmaceutical industry met in December to discuss the future of cancer drugs commissioning. They committed themselves to establishing a working group to develop a robust process to support the sustainable, long-term commissioning of cancer drugs. The group will meet for the first time, opportunely, on Monday 19 January.

I am glad that the hon. Member for Scunthorpe found the letter about research useful. He and I, along with my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood, had a very good meeting with the chief medical officer, and we have followed that up with a response to the all-party group’s excellent report, which was published last October. At our meeting, the chief medical officer said that she would be happy to attend a meeting of the all-party group. I will remind her of that, but I suggest that the hon. Gentleman and my hon. Friend get in touch with her. We would respond positively to that.

The Government are investing a record £800 million over the five years to 2017 in a series of biomedical research centres and units, including £6.5 million of funding for the Liverpool pancreas biomedical research unit. The unit is working in partnership with industry and leading research institutions to develop new treatments and diagnostic strategies for pancreatic cancer. The National Cancer Research Institute brings together clinicians, scientists, statisticians and lay representatives. Its upper gastro-intestinal cancer clinical studies group has a pancreas sub-group, which plays a vital role in the development of trials.

Late in 2012, the Prime Minister launched the 100,000 genomes project, which will sequence 100,000 whole genomes from NHS patients by 2017. It focuses on patients with rare diseases and their families, as well as on patients with some types of cancer. We believe that the six cancers that will be covered will give us knowledge and understanding that can be applied to all cancers. Although pancreatic cancer is not one of the six, we expect the project to make a useful contribution in that regard.

I thank both Members who have spoken this evening, I thank the all-party group, and I thank all those who campaign tirelessly for progress on pancreatic cancer. We know that achieving improved outcomes for people with the disease is a huge challenge, but I believe that the change that we all desperately want to see will come. I welcome the new cancer taskforce, which will be leading the way, and I undertake to write to its independent chairman, drawing his attention to this evening’s important debate and the work of the all-party group.

Question put and agreed to.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nicholas Dakin and Jane Ellison

Tuesday 25th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

4. What assessment he has made of the role of dispensing doctors in the NHS.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Jane Ellison)]

Patients can take their prescriptions to any pharmacy where they wish to have their prescriptions dispensed, but we know that in remote and rural areas, where pharmacies may not be viable, NHS England may authorise GPs to dispense to patients, provided that certain criteria set out in regulations are met.

[Nic Dakin]

Dispensing doctors play an important part in rural areas, as the Minister said, but they face particular challenges at the moment. Will she meet me and representatives of the Dispensing Doctors’ Association to discuss these challenges?

[Jane Ellison]

I am always happy to meet colleagues. I think that Earl Howe leads on the matter in the Department, and I shall draw the hon. Gentleman’s concerns to his attention. It is for NHS England to ensure that everyone has a pharmacy available to them, and I am aware that the CCG allocation formula includes allowances for rurality, but we know that this is a particular challenge.