Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to ensure that all treatments for advanced pancreatic cancer shown to be effective are made available to patients on the NHS.

The Government is committed to ensuring that patients have access to effective treatments, including those for pancreatic cancer, on terms that represent value to the National Health Service and the taxpayer.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for providing advice to the NHS on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of health technologies.

NICE has recommended gemcitabine as a treatment option for pancreatic cancer in technology appraisal guidance published in May 2001, subject to certain clinical criteria, and has been asked to appraise a number of other pancreatic cancer drugs. NHS commissioners are legally required to fund treatments recommended by NICE technology appraisal guidance.

Surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments that may be used for pancreatic cancer are commissioned by NHS England. NHS England’s pancreatic cancer service specification clearly defines what it expects to be in place for providers to offer evidence-based, safe and effective pancreatic cancer services.

NHS England has also committed to make up to £6 million available over the next three years to support six trials by Cancer Research UK - one of which will be on pancreatic cancer - into the use of Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR), an innovative radiotherapy treatment. This will allow patients to receive SABR treatment where clinicians think they could benefit. At the same time doctors can fully assess the effectiveness of this treatment so that, if it proves to be effective, it will be available for patients on the NHS where appropriate.

We are commissioning an external review of the pathways for the development, assessment, and adoption of innovative medicines and medical technology. This review will consider how to speed up access for NHS patients to cost-effective new diagnostics, medicines and devices.