Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will support the implementation of the Optimal Care Pathway for pancreatic cancer.

We are committed to transforming the National Health Service so that we diagnose cancer earlier, treat it faster, and improve survival rates.

On 12 September 2024 the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre published their State of the Nation Report on Pancreatic Cancer, and the NHS cancer programme is currently considering how to take forward the initial recommendations of that audit. NHS England is also funding a new audit into pancreatic cancer to increase the consistency of access to treatments, and to stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients.

For people with higher risk due to family history, NHS England is providing options for enhanced pancreatic cancer surveillance. They are also creating pathways to support faster referral routes for people with non-specific symptoms and increasing direct access for general practitioners to diagnostic tests.