Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to introduce high-intensity focused ultrasound therapy for prostate cancer more widely through the NHS.

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a technique where high frequency ultrasound waves are aimed at the cancer, heating up the cells with the aim to causing cell death and eradicating the cancer. The technique was reviewed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in 2012 who concluded that the evidence on the efficacy of treatment was limited and recommended that HIFU be used in the research setting only (Interventional procedures guidance IPG424). For this reason, use of the technique in the National Health Service is limited to research only and there are currently no plans to extend use of the technique without development of the current evidence base.