Pancreatic Cancer

(asked on 2nd December 2014) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that the treatment for pancreatic cancer listed by the Cancer Drugs Fund will continue to be made available to patients on the NHS.


Answered by
George Freeman Portrait
George Freeman
This question was answered on 8th December 2014

NHS England’s Cancer Drugs Fund panel plans to assess, on the basis of the latest evidence, whether certain drugs, including Abraxane (albumin bound paclitaxel) for advanced pancreatic cancer, should continue to be made routinely available to new patients through the Fund and to consider a number of new drugs for potential addition to the Fund.

NHS England has assured the Department that no patient whose treatment is currently being funded through the Fund will have funding withdrawn, as long as it is clinically appropriate that they continue to receive that treatment. In addition, no drug will be removed from the Fund where it is the only therapy for that condition.

We are committed to maintaining the Cancer Drugs Fund until the end of March 2016. We will carefully consider with NHS England what arrangements should be put in place for the long term.

Reticulating Splines