Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of funding available for research into ovarian cancer in order to improve (a) detection and (b) treatment.

The Department invests in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Cancer is a major area of NIHR spending at £141.6 million in 2024/25, reflecting its high priority. This includes research into ovarian cancer specifically, for example the £1.9 million PICCOS trial, which is testing whether Pressurised IntraPeritoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy is better at managing cancer spread to the lining of the abdominal cavity than standard chemotherapy in several forms of cancer, including ovarian. In addition, NIHR funded research has demonstrated that the IOTA ADNEX ultrasound model can identify nine out of every 10 ovarian cancers and could offer a much more reliable method for finding ovarian cancer early in women who have not yet reached menopause.

As well as funding research itself, the Department invests significantly in research expertise and capacity, specialist facilities, support services, and collaborations to support and deliver research in England, known as NIHR infrastructure. NIHR infrastructure underpins research.

It is not the usual process of the NIHR to allocate funds for research into specific conditions. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including ovarian cancer. Our approach to funding research is through open and fair competition and peer review to ensure that the highest-quality proposals, most likely to deliver real impact for patients, are funded without imposing financial targets or limits.