Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to increase survival rates for people with liver cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is supporting the National Health Service to increase survival rates for all cancers including for liver cancer in England by taking steps to diagnosing and treating cancers at an early stage. The NHS is working towards the NHS Long Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of stageable cancers at stage 1 and 2 by 2028, meaning 55,000 more people each year will survive their cancer at least five years after diagnosis. To deliver this, the Department is driving faster roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, establishing 135 community diagnostic centres, with capacity prioritised for cancer.
NHS cancer standards have been reformed with the support of clinicians to speed up diagnosis for patients which means people will receive a diagnosis or have cancer ruled out within 28 days from urgent cancer referral from their general practitioner (GP). In addition, the NHS-Galleri Trial is looking into the use of a new blood test to see if it can help the NHS to detect cancer early when used alongside existing cancer screening, including liver cancers.
The Government is working jointly with NHS England on implementing the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care and plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment activity.
The Department has also committed support to the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce, which targets cancers with stubbornly poor survival rates. This partnership focuses on liver, pancreas, lung, brain, oesophagus, and stomach cancers, raising awareness of these less survivable cancers so more people understand their symptoms and go to see their GP if they have concerns.
In addition to the immediate action to support cancer services, the Government announced on 24 January 2023 that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy. The Strategy will tackle conditions that contribute most to morbidity and mortality across the population in England, including cancer.
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, what plans she has for use of the Galleri blood test in cancer testing and diagnosis across the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS-Galleri Trial is looking into the use of a new blood test to see if it can help the National Health Service to detect cancer early when used alongside existing cancer screening. The trial has now recruited the target of 140,000 participants and interim results are expected in spring or summer 2024. If the trial is successful, the NHS has committed to rolling out up to one million Galleri tests in 2024 and 2025 as part of an interim implementation pilot. The clinical trial is currently planned to conclude in 2025 with results expected in 2026.
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, what steps she is taking to help reduce rates of liver cancer in the UK.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is supporting the National Health Service to reduce rates of liver cancer in England through NHS England providing support to the NHS to help patients live healthier lives, improve early diagnosis, and develop new treatments.
Improving early cancer diagnosis is a priority. The NHS is working towards the NHS Long Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of stageable cancers at stage 1 and 2 by 2028, meaning 55,000 more people each year will survive their cancer at least five years after diagnosis. To deliver this, the Department is driving faster roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, establishing 123 community diagnostic centres (CDCs), with capacity prioritised for cancer. NHS cancer standards will also be reformed with the support of clinicians to speed up diagnosis for patients. In addition, the NHS-Galleri Trial is looking into the use of a new blood test to see if it can help the NHS to detect cancer early when used alongside existing cancer screening, including liver cancers.
The NHS’s Core20PLUS5 programme is a national intervention which aims to provide the best treatment and care for patients and tackling health disparities. The Government’s Major Conditions Strategy, focused on six major groups of conditions, including cancers, will apply a geographical lens to address regional disparities in health outcomes and improve healthy life expectancy.
The Department has also committed support to the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce, which targets cancers with stubbornly poor survival rates. This partnership focuses on liver, pancreas, lung, brain, oesophagus and stomach cancers, raising awareness of these less survivable cancers so more people understand their symptoms and go to see their GP if they have concerns.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will launch an awareness campaign on abdominal and urological symptoms of ovarian cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS England is currently running a ‘Help us Help you’ campaign highlighting the abdominal and urological symptoms of cancer, including ovarian cancer, and addressing the barriers that stop people from accessing services in the National Health Service.
It encourages the public to contact their general practitioner if they're worried about symptoms, such as “tummy discomfort or diarrhoea that lasts for three weeks or more, or if they've seen blood in their pee even once”.
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 |
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
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 increase (a) early diagnosis and (b) survival rates of pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
In January 2019, NHS England published the NHS Long Term Plan which set the ambition to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage one and two by 2023, when it is easier to treat and increases survival outcomes.
To achieve this ambition, the Department is working with NHS England to increase early diagnosis and survival rates for those with cancer, including pancreatic cancer, and plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis, as set out in the Elective Recovery Plan published in February 2022. In addition, the Government has awarded £2.3 billion to transform diagnostic services over the next three years, most of which will help increase the number of Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) up to 160 by March 2025, prioritising CDCs for cancer services.
The National Health Service has implemented ‘non-specific symptom pathways’ for patients who have symptoms that do not align to a particular type of tumour, including for non-specific symptoms of pancreatic cancer. There are 103 pathways currently in place with the aim to have national coverage by March 2024.
To encourage people to see their general practitioner if they notice symptoms that could be cancer, NHS England runs the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaigns, which address the barriers that deter patients from accessing the NHS. In addition, the NHS has allocated £10 million to innovations to support earlier and more efficient diagnosis, including the PinPoint blood test and a new genetic test that can be used as a ‘liquid biopsy’ for those with suspected pancreatic cancer.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to increase funding for (a) screening and (b) treating ovarian cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department invests in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including ovarian cancer research.
Currently, there is no national screening programme for ovarian cancer, in part due to the unsuitability of the blood test as a screening tool. No funding has been allocated for screening for ovarian cancer.
However, it is worth noting that the NIHR has funded six research projects into screening for ovarian cancer since 2018, with a combined total funding value of £3.8 million. The NIHR also supports delivery in the health and care system for screening for ovarian cancer research funded by research funding partners in the charity and public sectors.
The Department is committed to timely access to clinically and cost-effective new cancer drugs on the National Health Service. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence appraises all new cancer medicines, including for gynaecological cancers. The Cancer Drugs Fund supports patient access to the most promising new cancer medicines while further evidence is collected, including for ovarian cancer.
On ovarian cancer awareness, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Twickenham on 9 May 2023 to Question 183186.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
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 raise awareness of ovarian cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department invests in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including ovarian cancer research.
Currently, there is no national screening programme for ovarian cancer, in part due to the unsuitability of the blood test as a screening tool. No funding has been allocated for screening for ovarian cancer.
However, it is worth noting that the NIHR has funded six research projects into screening for ovarian cancer since 2018, with a combined total funding value of £3.8 million. The NIHR also supports delivery in the health and care system for screening for ovarian cancer research funded by research funding partners in the charity and public sectors.
The Department is committed to timely access to clinically and cost-effective new cancer drugs on the National Health Service. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence appraises all new cancer medicines, including for gynaecological cancers. The Cancer Drugs Fund supports patient access to the most promising new cancer medicines while further evidence is collected, including for ovarian cancer.
On ovarian cancer awareness, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Twickenham on 9 May 2023 to Question 183186.
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 data his Department holds on the potential impact of benzodiazepine use on (a) dementia risk, (b) brain health and (c) cancer risk.
Answered by Will Quince
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring that medicines, medical devices and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assess the available data and, where appropriate, seeks the advice of the Commission on Human Medicines, the MHRA’s independent advisory committee, to inform decisions. All data relating to the safety of a medicine must be held by the Marketing Authorisation Holder and the MHRA notified about any data which impacts the safety of their products.
The MHRA holds information that has been reported through the Yellow Card scheme regarding suspected adverse reactions, which may include dementia, neurological disorders or cancers, and details of the suspected adverse reactions reported are available on the MHRA website. Published literature on the impact on dementia risk, brain health and cancer risk is not specifically held by the MHRA but can be accessed to support safety evaluations.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to increase the availability of the CA125 blood test for the screening of ovarian cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
We do not currently screen for ovarian cancer, in part due to the unsuitability of the CA125 blood test as a screening tool. CA125 blood testing is not deemed by the UK National Screening Committee to be accurate enough for the purpose of screening. The blood test is offered to those who have symptoms that could be ovarian cancer as a part of routine diagnostics.