Apr. 16 2024
Source Page: CA125 blood test for Ovarian Cancer: FOI releaseFound: CA125 blood test for Ovarian Cancer: FOI release
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2024 to Question 15636 on Blood Cancer: Drugs, on what date her Department first became aware of challenges presented by the appraisal of combination therapies; and what solutions her Department is considering with NHS England to ensure continued equal access to combination medicines for multiple myeloma across the UK.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) worked closely with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over a number of years on the CMA’s statement on combination therapies, published in November 2023.
The steps taken by the CMA provide a clear commercial position that means that deals involving multiple drugs licensed by different companies can now be agreed under specific circumstances. This has been welcomed by the ABPI as an opportunity to unlock the door to more transformative combination therapies on the National Health Service.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans with Cabinet colleagues to increase research funding into the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of blood cancers.
Answered by Will Quince
As with other Government funders of health research, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors, including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including blood cancers.
The following table shows NIHR research spend on diagnosis, treatment, and diagnosis & treatment of blood cancers since 2018:
Number of projects | Total Awards Value | |
Blood Cancer Diagnosis | 11 | £11.9 million |
Blood Cancer Treatment | 14 | £14,7 million |
Blood Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment | 4 | £7,712 |
Written Evidence Jun. 28 2023
Inquiry: Future cancerFound: FCR0045 - Future cancer Blood Cancer UK Written Evidence
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve research into acute myeloid leukaemia.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is proud to invest £1.3 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was over £121.8 million for 2022/23, and more is spent on cancer than any other disease group.
The Government, through the NIHR, is committed to improving research into the cancers with the poorest survival rates, such as acute myeloid leukaemia, by funding high quality, timely research that leads to improved outcomes for patients and the public, and makes the health and social care system more efficient, effective, and safe. Research evidence is vital for improving treatments and outcomes for people, including those with pancreatic cancer, and other less survivable cancers. The following table shows NIHR research spend on diagnosis, treatment, and diagnosis and treatment of blood cancers, which includes leukaemia, since 2018:
Number of projects | Total awards value | |
Blood cancer diagnosis | 11 | £11,900,000 |
Blood cancer treatment | 14 | £14,700,000 |
Blood cancer diagnosis and treatment | 4 | £7,700,000 |
In 2023, the Government awarded £2 million to new interdisciplinary research teams tackling hard to treat cancers, via the Medical Research Council’s two-day cancer sandpit strategic funding opportunity, focused on technological innovation for understanding cancers with the poorest survival rates.
The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome applications for research into any aspect of human health, including acute myeloid leukaemia. All applications are assessed for funding by peer review committees. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors including the quality of the proposals, and their scientific potential. All applications for research into pancreatic cancer and other less survivable cancers, made through open competition, have been funded.
Oct. 06 2008
Source Page: Bowel cancer screening: the facts. 7 p.Found: Bowel cancer screening: the facts. 7 p.
Written Evidence Jan. 29 2024
Inquiry: Men's healthFound: IMH0113 - Men's health Prostate Cancer UK Written Evidence
Asked by: Carson, Finlay (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Galloway and West Dumfries)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what data it holds on how many patients have been diagnosed with a blood cancer through Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care
The recently published University of Strathclyde evaluation report https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/88280/7/Maguire-etal-2024-Final-report-of-the-evaluation-of-rapid-cancer-diagnostic-services.pdf showed that 13.5% of cancers diagnosed through the Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDS) were blood cancers.
The Scottish Government does not hold data on exact numbers but work is underway with Public Health Scotland to create a national RCDS data-set.
Asked by: Briggs, Miles (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Lothian)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made to ensure (a) equity in data availability across cancer types and (b) the frequent publication of emergency presentation data for blood cancers, as outlined in its Cancer Action Plan for Scotland 2023-2026.
Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health
The Scottish Government is committed to improving the quality, frequency and usage of a number of datasets, including emergency presentation data, across cancer types.
Blood cancers often present in different ways. A wide range of data on blood cancers are regularly published by Public Health Scotland, including Incidence, Quality Performance Indicators (QPIs), Mortality, and Survival. We will continue to work with key partners to identify any gaps in understanding and inequity in data availability, to drive improvements.
For example, we expect to review cancer types measured and reported on with regards to time to first treatment as part of the clinical review of Cancer Waiting Time standards ahead of 2026.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to shorten the diagnostic pathway for ovarian cancer by allowing the CA125 blood test and ultrasound to be undertaken at the same time.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is supporting NHS England in developing Best Practice Timed pathways, to support the ongoing improvement effort to shorten diagnosis pathways, reduce variation, improve patient experience of care, and meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard. This standard ensures patients are told they have cancer, or that cancer is ruled out, within 28 days of urgent cancer referral from general practice or screening service.
In March 2023, NHS England published guidance for local health and care systems to implement a timed gynaecological cancer diagnostic pathway, including for ovarian cancer. The gynaecological pathway ensures that at day zero, when presenting with symptoms, an ultrasound and a minimum data set is obtained, which includes a full blood count. For patients with suspected ovarian cancer, the minimum dataset should also include tumour marker CA125, with confirmation of suspicious features of ovarian cancer on ultrasound.
The guidance further ensures that patients with persistent abdominal symptoms, raised CA125, and a normal pelvic scan should be referred through the non-specific symptoms rapid diagnostic centre pathway. Women over 50 years old with elevated CA125 and palpable mass or ascites, or both, or with a previous ultrasound with risk of malignancy, should be referred straight to a computed tomography scan.