Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the clinical trial at Mount Sinai Health System, New York, published on 2 October 2024, on treating invasive bladder cancer which avoids removal of the bladder.

The Department has not made a formal assessment of the policy implications following this clinical trial. The adoption of new treatments into the National Health Service in England is generally the result of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance and commissioner decisions.

The recommended treatment plan for muscle-invasive bladder cancer depends on how far the cancer has spread. All hospitals use multidisciplinary teams to treat bladder cancer. These are teams of specialists that work together to make decisions about the best way to proceed with treatment.