Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the regularity with which survivors of oesophageal cancer should receive follow-up tests to ensure there is no recurrence of the disease.

No recent assessment has been made. However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service. The NICE guideline on oesophago-gastric cancer, published in 2018, includes recommendations on follow-up for patients who have received treatment for oesophago-gastric cancer, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng83

Healthcare professionals are expected to take NICE’s guidance fully into account in the care and treatment of individual patients.