Written Evidence Nov. 29 2023
Inquiry: Men's healthFound: IMH0030 - Men's health Prostate Cancer Research Written Evidence
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, how much funding her Department has allocated to prostate cancer research in the last 5 years.
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, with more spent on cancer than any other disease group. In 2018, the Government announced £75 million towards clinical trials for prostate cancer, with a focus on improving early diagnosis, survival rates, and exploring options for different treatments for men affected by the disease.
Since April 2019, the NIHR has awarded £79.1 million across 49 prostate cancer research programmes. Research includes randomised controlled trials of different treatments for prostate cancer, a randomised controlled trial of different methods of biopsy for suspected prostate cancer, and survivors' rehabilitation evaluation after cancer.
On 19 November 2023, the Government and Prostate Cancer UK announced a £42 million screening trial to find ways of detecting the country’s most common male cancer earlier. Prostate Cancer UK is leading the development of the trial, with the Government contributing £16 million through the Department. Additionally, the NIHR supported over 100 commercial and non-commercial clinical research studies in 2023/24, through the NIHR Research Delivery Network.
Mentions:
1: Carlaw, Jackson (Con - Eastwood) PE2062, on introducing a national screening programme for prostate cancer, has been lodged by Bill Alexander - Speech Link
2: Ewing, Fergus (SNP - Inverness and Nairn) cancer is such a widespread cancer. - Speech Link
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to prioritise research into variation of the prevalence of prostate cancer among different ethnic groups.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department welcomes the recently announced TRANSFORM trial which aims to save thousands of men each year by finding the best way to screen for prostate cancer across all ethnic groups. It will be spread across the United Kingdom, although final decisions on specific locations are yet to be taken. Men will be invited to participate via their general practices. This study, led by Prostate Cancer UK and supported by the Government among others, will also aim to address some of the inequalities that exist in prostate cancer diagnosis today by ensuring that one in ten of the trial participants will be black men, who are three times overrepresented compared to the population of men aged between 45 and 75 years old as based on 2021 census data.
More broadly, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds research in response to proposals received from scientists and commissioned calls rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas. It welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including prostate cancer. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.
In addition, to raise awareness of prostate cancer in this group, Leicester’s Centre for BME Health has developed a toolkit in partnership with the NIHR with guidance on how to start conversations about prostate cancer and overcome barriers to diagnosis.
Written Evidence Jan. 29 2024
Inquiry: Men's healthFound: IMH0113 - Men's health Prostate Cancer UK Written Evidence
Mentions:
1: Andrew Stephenson (Con - Pendle) cancer.Through this taskforce, I will be inviting experts to discuss how to improve treatment, detection and research - Speech Link
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an estimate of the number of scans for suspected prostate cancer performed by the NHS in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While some data on scanning of the prostate is available from the Diagnostic Imaging Dataset, it does not distinguish between scans for non-cancer indications, scans for suspected cancer, namely cancer diagnosis, and scans to inform staging and treatment planning for cancer which is already diagnosed.
Screening for the most common cancer in men, prostate cancer, is complex but we are backing groundbreaking trials to improve diagnostic processes and save thousands more lives. In 2021, 43,378 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, a 9% decrease compared to 2019. The recently announced TRANSFORM trial, which will be led by Prostate Cancer UK and supported by £16 million of Government funding, aims to find the best way to screen for prostate cancer. The trial will cover the whole of the United Kingdom, although final decisions on specific locations are yet to be taken. The UK National Screening Committee will be reviewing the evidence that is published by this study, which will help to inform any future recommendation on creating a national screening programme for prostate cancer.
To support faster diagnosis, NHS England is streamlining cancer pathways and in October 2022 introduced the best practice timed pathway for prostate cancer. This guidance recommends those with suspected prostate cancer undertake multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging before biopsy, which ensures only those men most at risk of having cancer undergo an invasive biopsy.
Alongside cutting-edge research, we are helping more people get diagnosed earlier for cancer and other conditions by rolling out additional tests, checks and scans at 160 locations across England through our Community Diagnostics Centres programme.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an estimate of the number of (a) MRI and (b) CT scans for suspected prostate cancer performed by the NHS in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While some data on scanning of the prostate is available from the Diagnostic Imaging Dataset, it does not distinguish between scans for non-cancer indications, scans for suspected cancer, namely cancer diagnosis, and scans to inform staging and treatment planning for cancer which is already diagnosed.
Screening for the most common cancer in men, prostate cancer, is complex but we are backing groundbreaking trials to improve diagnostic processes and save thousands more lives. In 2021, 43,378 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, a 9% decrease compared to 2019. The recently announced TRANSFORM trial, which will be led by Prostate Cancer UK and supported by £16 million of Government funding, aims to find the best way to screen for prostate cancer. The trial will cover the whole of the United Kingdom, although final decisions on specific locations are yet to be taken. The UK National Screening Committee will be reviewing the evidence that is published by this study, which will help to inform any future recommendation on creating a national screening programme for prostate cancer.
To support faster diagnosis, NHS England is streamlining cancer pathways and in October 2022 introduced the best practice timed pathway for prostate cancer. This guidance recommends those with suspected prostate cancer undertake multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging before biopsy, which ensures only those men most at risk of having cancer undergo an invasive biopsy.
Alongside cutting-edge research, we are helping more people get diagnosed earlier for cancer and other conditions by rolling out additional tests, checks and scans at 160 locations across England through our Community Diagnostics Centres programme.
Mentions:
1: David Evennett (Con - Bexleyheath and Crayford) In particular, can she look at how we can detect prostate cancer better and sooner? - Speech Link
2: Maria Caulfield (Con - Lewes) He is absolutely right: 12,000 men a year die from prostate cancer. - Speech Link
3: Maria Caulfield (Con - Lewes) PSA is not a sensitive test in all prostate cancers: there are many men with prostate cancer who do not - Speech Link
4: Amy Callaghan (SNP - East Dunbartonshire) Cancer Research UK has found that too much UV radiation is the third biggest cause of cancer across these - Speech Link
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, what plans they have to use artificial intelligence systems to support the diagnosis of prostate cancer, as recommended by the Lancet Commission in research published on 4 April.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the United Kingdom, and currently has no screening programme. The recently announced TRANSFORM trial aims to find the best way to screen for prostate cancer. This study is led by Prostate Cancer UK and supported by £42 million of Government funding.
In March 2024, NHS England implemented the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), setting a target of a maximum 28 day wait from urgent suspected general practice or screening referral to patients being told they have cancer, or that cancer is ruled out. To achieve this target, NHS England is streamlining cancer pathways by introducing best-practice timed pathways for prostate cancer, so that those suspected of having prostate cancer receive a multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging scan first, which ensures only those men most at risk of having cancer undergo an invasive biopsy. As well as diagnosing patients faster, NHS England is working to diagnose patients at an earlier stage, through the ambitions set out in the NHS Long-Term Plan, to diagnose 75% of cancers at stages one and two by 2028.
NHS England takes steps to raise awareness of prostate cancer, where there are opportunities to do so. For example, NHS England partners with Cancer Alliances, charities, and local representatives to reach people through projects in the heart of their communities. Cancer Alliances have also been undertaking action to alert at-risk groups about prostate cancer. This is determined at a local level, and so will vary depending on local needs and priorities.
The Government has made significant strides in enabling the use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems to support the diagnosis of many types of cancer, including prostate. The AI in Health and Care Award was established, aiming to accelerate the testing and development of AI technologies that align with the NHS Long Term Plan. The award represents a substantial investment in the future of healthcare technology, with £113 million already allocated to support 86 AI technologies. Three of these projects specifically relate to prostate cancer, one of which is the Paige prostate cancer detection tool, developed by the University of Oxford. This AI-based diagnostic software aids in the interpretation of pathology sample images, facilitating more efficient detection, grading, and quantification of cancer in prostate biopsies. The Chancellor’s recent budget announcement on 6 March 2024 includes a £3.4 billion investment to reform how the National Health Service works, including on the use of technologies such as AI.
Finally, although no specific assessment of the Lancet Commission published 4 April 2024 has been made, the Department will work with NHS England to review the details.