Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is planning to introduce targeted measures to tackle the specific challenges for patients with less survivable cancers through the National Cancer Plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing the number of lives lost to cancer is a key aim of the National Cancer Plan, which will be published in the new year. The plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for patients with cancer, including less survivable cancers, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.
The Department has been working closely with members of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce as part of the development of the plan to understand the specific challenges and to identify how to improve diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for less survivable cancers, which includes lung, pancreatic, liver, brain, oesophageal, and stomach cancer.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase access to clinical trials for patients with (a) pancreatic cancer and (b) other less survivable cancers.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with pancreatic cancer and other less survivable cancers, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.
The Department funds research and research infrastructure through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which supports National Health Service patients, the public, and NHS organisations across England to participate in high-quality research, including clinical trials into cancers.
NIHR provides an online service called 'Be Part of Research', which promotes participation in health and social care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest.
The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients across the country. It will ensure that more patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and to clinical trials.
The Government is also supporting the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The Bill will make it easier for clinical trials, on for example pancreatic cancer, to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support the implementation of innovative (a) diagnostic tools and (b) tests to help improve the speed of diagnosis of less survivable cancers.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is carrying out work to assess the barriers of effective adoption and to improve the way diagnostic tools, including those using artificial intelligence (AI), are deployed across the National Health Service in England.
The NHS Cancer Programme’s Innovation Open Call is held to identify and support the most promising innovations and has funded cancer diagnostic innovations in areas including medical devices, in vitro diagnostics, digital health solutions, behaviour interventions, artificial intelligence, robotics, and new models of care.
There are also initiatives to improve the identification of cancer symptoms, including for less survivable cancers, in primary care. This includes Jess’s Rule, which supports clinicians to rethink their assessments when patients have presented three times with the same symptoms or concerns. Jess’s Rule was developed through a process of engagement with leading clinicians and charities.
The Department has been working with members of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce as part of the development of the National Cancer Plan to identify how to improve diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for less survivable cancers, which includes lung, pancreatic, liver, brain, oesophageal, and stomach cancer.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of research funding allocated to pancreatic cancer given its rates of (a) mortality, (b) survival and (c) late diagnosis; and whether he plans to increase that funding.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and in 2024/25, spent £141,649,374 on cancer research, signalling its high priority. This includes studies that focus specifically on pancreatic cancer as well as studies that are relevant or include pancreatic cancer. For example, between financial years 2020/21 and 2024/25, the NIHR committed £1.5 million to specific pancreatic cancer studies. The NIHR has also invested £1.9 million in research to detect early stages of gastrointestinal cancers, which includes pancreatic cancer. This non-invasive breath test will aim to streamline the referral process for primary care.
NIHR’s wider investments in research infrastructure, including facilities, services and the research workforce, supported the delivery of 160 pancreatic cancer research studies and enabled over 8,200 people to participate in potentially life-changing research during this time period. This includes support for the PemOla trial, which is the first to explore using precision immunotherapies to treat pancreatic cancer. More information about the trial is available at the following link:
https://cambridgebrc.nihr.ac.uk/2025/07/18/pancreatic-cancer-precision-medicine-trial/
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the Health Data Research Service will help improve data-sharing practices between healthcare professionals and researchers for tackling (a) pancreatic cancer and (b) other less survivable cancers.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham on 30 October 2025 to Questions 78409 and 78410.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the adoption of new technologies for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is supporting NHS England to actively adopt new technologies for cancer diagnosis, with focus on artificial intelligence (AI), liquid biopsies, and advanced genomic testing to speed up diagnosis and improve patient outcomes. As part of the plan, we have also committed to the expansion of the National Institution of Clinical Excellence’s technology appraisal process to cover devices, diagnostics, and digital products.
We have invested £146 million in a partnership with pharmaceutical companies and universities to harness science and innovation to detect and treat cancer sooner through trials for new technologies, including those using AI, two of which are developing technology for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
Additionally, initiatives using digital technology to improve the identification of cancer symptoms in primary care include a new £2 million National Health Service programme, funding 300 general practices (GPs) to identify pancreatic cancer early by screening high-risk patients over 60 years old with new diabetes diagnoses and unexplained weight loss for urgent testing. More than 300 GPs across England will begin using the initiative, with the roll out having already begun, and the rest to be up and running by the end of the year.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to prioritise research into the early detection of pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Cancer is one of the largest areas of spend at over £141.6 million in 2024/25, reflecting its high priority.
These investments are pivotal to informing efforts to improve cancer prevention, treatment and outcomes. An example of this investment is research led by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Imperial College London on breath tests for early detection of cancer, including pancreatic cancer. Further information on the breath tests is available at the following link:
https://imperialbrc.nihr.ac.uk/2023/06/05/imperial-led-uk-cancer-breath-tests-reach-final-stages/
The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including pancreatic cancer research. The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how the National Health Service will improve diagnosis and outcomes for cancer patients in England.
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, what steps his Department is taking to support the (a) development and (b) rollout of biomarker tests to support early detection of (i) pancreatic cancer and (ii) other less survivable cancers in primary care services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
million NHS programme. This is funding more than 300 general practices (GPs) to identify pancreatic cancer early by screening high-risk patients over 60 years old with new diabetes diagnoses and unexplained weight loss. More than 80 GPs across England have begun using the initiative. It will be extended to the other general practices participating in the trial by the end of the year.
The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) is developing a National Inherited Cancer Predisposition Register (NICPR), which launched on 30 June. The NICPR looks at a wide range of cancers for which there is an increased inherited risk, including for less survivable cancers. It aims to identify high-risk individuals who are eligible for targeted screening and surveillance, and will act as an electronic referral route into national screening programmes where these exist.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS patients died from cancer within three months of diagnosis in each of the last five years.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Disease Registration Service in NHS England is the cancer registry for England and collects data on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients. The service is available at the following link:
The following table shows the number of people who died within three months of their cancer diagnosis:
Diagnosis year | Number of patients who died within three months of diagnosis |
2018 | 41,647 |
2019 | 39,973 |
2020 | 41,599 |
2021 | 41,878 |
2022 | 41,228 |
Source: NHS England Digital
Notes: Using the methodology from the Accredited Official Statistics on Cancer Registrations, the number of people who died within three months of their cancer diagnosis were counted. People who died on the same day as they were diagnosed were not included in the counts, as the vast majority of these are cases where the only indication of their cancer is their death certificate and their true date of diagnosis is not known. Many of the others are incidental findings at death. The statistics are available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cancer-registration-statistics/england-2022
My rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has announced that a National Cancer Plan for England will be published in 2026. The Prime Minister’s health mission sets the objective of building a National Health Service fit for the future, and an essential part of this is achieving our goal to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer. The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care- as well as prevention and research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years. This will benefit all cancer patients, including pancreatic cancer patients.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has for the National Health Data Service to collect data on pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is setting up the Health Data Research Service (HDRS) to help improve healthcare for everyone in the United Kingdom. The National Health Service has collected health information from millions of people over 75 years old and has a unique set of data which could hold the secret to curing and better treating major illnesses.
HDRS will safely and responsibly capitalise on the UK's rich health and care datasets to unlock breakthroughs in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, including cancers. With streamlined access to this data, researchers will be able to carry out research that will prevent illness and benefit patients sooner, with improved and tailored treatments.
HDRS will be open to a diverse range of customers with a legal and ethical research project and will be designed to support the broadest spectrum of research topics, including rare diseases.