Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase access to targeted treatments for patients with rare cancers, such as Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis and Erdheim Chester Disease.

The Department is committed to working with the pharmaceutical industry to develop a more efficient, more competitive, and more accessible clinical research system in the United Kingdom, ensuring that all patients, including those with rarer cancers like Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis and Erdheim Chester disease, have access to cutting-edge clinical research and innovative, lifesaving treatments.

We are also committed to improving waiting times for cancer treatment, so that people with cancer, including rarer cancers, can get access to the care they need more quickly. We will start by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.

Finally, the National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology. The plan will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care, to improve the experience and outcomes for people with cancer, including rare and less common cancers.