Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the timetable for availability of molecular PIM1 on the NHS.

To better understand different cancers and develop new treatments, researchers are identifying and exploring the numerous promising molecular and bio-marker ‘targets’ in many cancers. PIM1 is an example of a promising target which is currently being explored.

The timeline for introducing promising molecular and bio-marker tests, such as for PIM1, into routine use in the National Health Service in England does vary. Usually this is related to the development and approvals process for linked treatments. The timeline for introducing PIM1 testing is at present unclear because the trials of treatments with this target in blood cancers are at a very early stage and those in breast cancer have not begun yet.