Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reason none of the £42 million his Department has made available for increasing the use of radiotherapy is to be spent on treating cancer patients with Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy this year.

In July 2011, the National Radiotherapy Implementation Group concluded that current evidence supports treatment withstereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) for only a small number of patients. The evidence supports its use in the treatment of early stage lung cancers for patients who are unsuitable for surgery (approximately 1,000 per annum).

NHS England recognises the positive clinical impact that its national policy on SABR for the treatment of early non-small cell lung cancer has had. It is currently examining the potential use of SABR in patients with oligometastatic disease – where a cancer is in the early stages of spreading.

NHS England is also currently undertaking a review of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and SABR for intracranial conditions to establish what the national demand is in line with its national clinical commissioning policies on SRS and SABR, and what the national capacity requirements are for this specialised treatment. Following the review it is planned that a final decision will be taken by the Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group in October 2014.

Later this year, the Radiotherapy Clinical Reference Group will review its current policy position on SABR to assess whether there is new evidence to recommend its use on other conditions. It is important to ensure that treatments commissioned are supported by robust evidence of their benefit to patients.