Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on achieving a shorter diagnostic pathway for ovarian cancer in England of the conclusions of the Target Ovarian Cancer report entitled Time is running out: the need for early diagnosis in ovarian cancer.

Improving faster and earlier diagnosis of cancer is a top priority for the National Health Service. To deliver the NHS Long Term Plan ambitions, NHS England and NHS Improvement have set up Rapid Diagnostic Centres that bring together diagnostic equipment and expertise to streamline diagnostic services for cancer, including cancers that are sometimes harder to diagnose, such as ovarian cancer.

NHS England and NHS Improvement encourage anyone with symptoms to continue to contact their general practitioner and have issued clear guidance to the NHS to maintain urgent referral and diagnostic services for suspected cancer.

The CA125 blood test, followed by an ultrasound for raised CA125 is the current process recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.