Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 expand the roll out surveillance programmes to (a) identify people at highest risk of pancreatic cancer and (b) support earlier diagnosis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Earlier diagnosis of cancers, including pancreatic cancer, is a priority for the Government. NHS England is working on case-finding approaches for less survivable cancers, where the evidence suggests this is appropriate. This includes a public-facing Family History Checker, which enables people, and their families, affected by pancreatic cancer to self-assess if they may inherit risk. Individuals identified as being at risk are referred directly to the European Registry of Hereditary Pancreatic Diseases research trial, which aims to understand inherited conditions of the pancreas. Referrals to the trial can be made by any healthcare professional across all health sectors or by individuals via self-referral, contributing to a centralised approach to case-finding.
The National Disease Registration Service has developed the 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: 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, what steps his Department is taking to support research into pancreatic cancer.
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 £141.6 million on cancer research, signalling its high priority. This includes studies that focus specifically on pancreatic cancer as well as studies that are relevant to or include pancreatic cancer. For example, between the financial years 2020/21 to 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 the early stages of gastrointestinal cancers, which includes pancreatic cancer, through a non-invasive breath test which will aim to streamline the referral process for primary care.
The NIHR’s wider investments in research infrastructure, for instance 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. Further information on the PemOla trial is available at the following link:
https://cambridgebrc.nihr.ac.uk/2025/07/18/pancreatic-cancer-precision-medicine-trial/
The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome high quality funding applications into pancreatic cancer.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
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 address the shortage of the drug pancrelipase for pancreatic exocrine insufficiency patients.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are ongoing supply issues with pancrelipase, also known by the brand name Creon, capsules, used by patients with conditions such as cystic fibrosis and certain cancers including pancreatic and neuroendocrine cancer. The Department is continuing to work with the suppliers of Creon and other licensed alternatives to help resolve the supply issues in the short and longer term. Through these discussions supply quantities have improved this year, and we are in regular communication with suppliers on expected volumes for 2026.The Department has also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the remaining gap in the market. We have widely disseminated comprehensive guidance to healthcare professionals, including National Health Service trusts, general practices, and pharmacies, about these supply issues, which provide advice on how to manage patients whilst there is disruption to supply. The Department will continue to work closely with the suppliers to resolve the issues as soon as possible, to ensure patients have continuous access to medicines.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his department has made of the potential merits of a national rollout of community diagnostic centres to improve access to primary care services for people with pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department remains committed to improving access to cancer diagnostic services and treatment, including for harder to diagnose tumour types such as pancreatic cancer.
The Government’s continued investment in community diagnostic centres (CDCs) enables the National Health Service to now deliver additional checks, tests, and scans at 170 CDCs, all of which deliver services 12 hours a day, seven days a week. This will enable the NHS to diagnose cancer faster and ensure that cancer patients, including those with pancreatic cancer, have timely access to primary care services.
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, what steps his Department is taking to expand patient access to clinical trials for (a) less survivable cancers and (b) pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - 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.
The 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 also supports 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: 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.