Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the approval by the Scottish Medicines Consortium of two second line treatments for renal cell carcinoma, if he will direct the Cancer Drug Fund panel to ensure that patients in England will continue to have access to treatments that are available on the NHS in Scotland for that condition.

We have no plans to do so. Decisions on which drugs are made available through the Cancer Drugs Fund are for NHS England’s Cancer Drugs Fund panel, in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedures for the Fund.

There are two drugs for the second-line treatment of renal cell carcinoma – Afinitor (everolimus) and Inlyta (axitinib) - currently available through the Fund.

Inlyta is also being appraised for this condition by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and final draft guidance recommending its use was published on 16 December 2014.

NHS England has assured the Department that no patient whose treatment is currently being funded through the Cancer Drugs Fund will have funding withdrawn, as long as it is clinically appropriate that they continue to receive that treatment.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.