Mentions:
1: Lord Hampton (XB - Excepted Hereditary) charity Tom’s Trust provides mental health, well-being and psychological support for 536 children with brain - Speech Link
2: Earl of Effingham (Con - Excepted Hereditary) The gut is our second brain. It uses the same chemicals and cells as our main brain. - Speech Link
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the newly established Children and Young People Cancer Task Force, how they will ensure that there is an integrated and coherent strategy between that and the Tessa Jowell Centre of Excellence for Children in child neuro-oncology; how they will ensure that resources are not unnecessarily duplicated; and how their work will be monitored and reported.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is taking steps to ensure that there is strategic integration and alignment between the newly established Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce and other important cancer initiatives, including the Tessa Jowell Centre of Excellence for Children.
The Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce is intended to be a unifying force, driving progress in the research, detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cancers affecting children and young people. The taskforce will be embedded in the landscape of cancer reform, mapping work already underway, identifying opportunities to go further, and ensuring that commitments are delivered, including those from the NHS Long Term Plan.
A vital part of the taskforce’s work will be to engage with initiatives such as the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission. The initiative for the Tessa Jowell Centre of Excellence for Children aims to recognise and award paediatric neuro-oncology centres that provide excellent treatment, care and research activities for children with brain tumours, and their families. The programme aims to uncover gaps and best practice through comprehensive data collection and is the first of its kind to understand and assess paediatric brain cancer care across the United Kingdom.
Both the taskforce and the centre will benefit from strategic coordination, senior official engagement and ongoing collaboration to ensure integration, best use of resources, and effective outcomes. While they have different timeframes and scopes, both will be subject to ongoing monitoring and reporting, with ministers being kept informed of progress at every stage.
Mentions:
1: Guy Opperman (Con - Hexham) Sheffield Central (Paul Blomfield), who sadly is also standing down, when we were raising money for brain - Speech Link
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she (a) has had and (b) plans to have with (i) brain tumour research charities and (ii) other organisations working to secure UK access to (A) Vorasidenib and (B) other new drugs for cancers of unmet need.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Department ministers and officials regularly meet with charities and other organisations working to improve outcomes for patients with cancer, including brain tumours, through access to new medicines.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations on whether all new medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service based on an assessment of their costs and benefits and aims to publish guidance as close as possible to licensing. NICE engages with stakeholders, including charities, in the development of its recommendations. NICE is currently developing guidance for the NHS on the use of Vorasidenib.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations of the APPG Report Brain Tumours–Pathway to a Cure, and in particular recommendation 6 with reference to paediatric cancer diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department welcomed the All-Party Parliamentary Group report and will continue to work through its recommendations with the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, UK Research and Innovation, the Medical Research Council, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
With regards to recommendation six, the NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including childhood brain tumours and paediatric diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. The usual practice of the NIHR is not to ring-fence funds for specific disease areas, as research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.
We rely on researchers to submit high-quality research proposals. Given the relatively small brain tumour clinical research community, we have been taking action to grow the field. The NIHR is working closely with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission in hosting customised workshops for researchers, and training for clinicians, to grow capacity for brain cancer research, attract new researchers, develop the community, and support researchers to submit high-quality research funding proposals.
The NIHR is committed to the involvement, engagement and participation of children and young people in research, supporting researchers and funders, as well as empowering children and young people to lead their own journey with research.
The NIHR, together with the United Kingdom health departments, the Little Princess Trust and Cancer Research UK, jointly fund Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMCs) to support the most promising innovations into the cancer medicines of tomorrow. For 2023 to 2028, the NIHR is providing £21.6 million in funding for the ECMCs in England, the ECMC Paediatric Network, and the Network Programme Office. Additionally, the NIHR Clinical Research Network cancer portfolio has a dedicated children and young people’s cancer subspecialty, which has a subspecialty lead who promotes and supports research within their local National Health Service trusts.
The Department has also now set up the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to progress our mission to deliver world-leading cancer services. This dedicated work focusing on cancers affecting children and young people will explore research and innovation, which may include targeting research funding, reviewing children’s access to clinical trials, gaining greater access to data, and informing future therapies and treatments.
Feb. 14 2024
Source Page: Funding for game-changing tech which could destroy cancers and predict diseaseFound: One device, by HistoSonics, aims to identify and destroy liver cancer tumours using focused ultrasound
Feb. 14 2024
Source Page: Funding for game-changing tech which could destroy cancers and predict diseaseFound: One device, by HistoSonics, aims to identify and destroy liver cancer tumours using focused ultrasound
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to improve access to new drugs for brain tumour patients.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR invests in the research delivery workforce, the facilities, and the capacity to support clinical trials into all disease areas, including brain tumours. The NIHR Clinical Research Facilities and Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres support the delivery of early phase trials, and the NIHR Clinical Research Network and Patient Recruitment Centres support delivery and participation in later phase clinical trials.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations on whether all new medicines, including for brain tumours, should be routinely funded by the National Health Service based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. NICE is able to recommend medicines for use through the Cancer Drugs Fund, where there is too much uncertainty for NICE to recommend routine use. NICE works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to ensure that its appraisal timelines are aligned with the regulatory process. NICE is currently evaluating a number of potential new medicines for brain tumours.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will increase the share of overall cancer research funding allocated to brain tumour research.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £121.8 million in 2022/23.
The NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists, rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.
Because of its importance, in May 2018 the Government announced £40 million for brain tumour research as part of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission (TJBCM) through the NIHR. Since the 2018 announcement, the NIHR has committed £11.3 million across 16 projects. All applications that were considered to be of fundable quality, by scientific peer reviewers, have been funded. To increase the quality, diversity and number of brain cancer research proposals the NIHR is working with the TJBCM and the research community to develop research capacity in the brain cancer community.
There is still funding available from the original £40 million announced in 2018. We are committed to funding high-quality brain cancer research, and we expect to spend more as new research progresses.
Written Evidence Feb. 07 2024
Inquiry: Future cancerFound: go through a mandatory course on brain tumours.