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, whether her Department plans to shorten the diagnostic pathway for ovarian cancer by allowing the CA125 blood test and ultrasound to be undertaken at the same time.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is supporting NHS England in developing Best Practice Timed pathways, to support the ongoing improvement effort to shorten diagnosis pathways, reduce variation, improve patient experience of care, and meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard. This standard ensures patients are told they have cancer, or that cancer is ruled out, within 28 days of urgent cancer referral from general practice or screening service.
In March 2023, NHS England published guidance for local health and care systems to implement a timed gynaecological cancer diagnostic pathway, including for ovarian cancer. The gynaecological pathway ensures that at day zero, when presenting with symptoms, an ultrasound and a minimum data set is obtained, which includes a full blood count. For patients with suspected ovarian cancer, the minimum dataset should also include tumour marker CA125, with confirmation of suspicious features of ovarian cancer on ultrasound.
The guidance further ensures that patients with persistent abdominal symptoms, raised CA125, and a normal pelvic scan should be referred through the non-specific symptoms rapid diagnostic centre pathway. Women over 50 years old with elevated CA125 and palpable mass or ascites, or both, or with a previous ultrasound with risk of malignancy, should be referred straight to a computed tomography scan.
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 she is taking to reduce regional variations in early diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing inequalities and variation in cancer treatment is a priority for the Government, as is increasing early cancer diagnosis, as both are key contributors to reducing cancer health inequalities. The National Health Service is improving cancer pathways to get people diagnosed faster once referred, and is looking into alternative routes into the system, including non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who do not fit clearly into a single urgent cancer referral pathway, but who are at risk of being diagnosed with cancer. This will help support faster ovarian cancer diagnosis. 113 NSS pathways are currently operational, with more in development.
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 information his Department holds on the number of people diagnosed with mouth cancer in the last twelve months.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not available for the last twelve months. The most recent data available from 2021 shows 9,018 people were diagnosed with mouth cancer in England. Further information is available at the following link:
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, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of (a) funding and (b) support available for research into non-invasive cancer monitoring technologies.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £121.8 million in 2022/23 and the NIHR spends more on cancer than any other disease group.
In terms of adequacy of funding, 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.
Regarding technologies, the NIHR’s Invention for Innovation (i4i) Programme is a translational research funding scheme aimed at supporting medical devices, such as non-invasive cancer monitoring technologies, and includes in vitro diagnostic devices and digital health technologies addressing an existing or emerging health or social care need. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nihr.ac.uk/explore-nihr/funding-programmes/invention-for-innovation.htm
Additionally, in September 2023, the Office for Life Sciences Cancer Mission launched the £12 million NIHR i4i Cancer Mission: Early Cancer Diagnosis Clinical Validation and Evaluation Call, aiming to support the clinical validation and evaluation of breakthrough technologies that can increase the proportion of cancers that are detected earlier in the disease course and target health inequalities in cancer diagnosis.
The NIHR continues to welcome and encourage funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including cancer monitoring technologies, and it is worth noting that all applications that were fundable in open competition, have been funded.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the change to annual income that families experience as a result of (a) a child or young person receiving a cancer diagnosis and (b) their associated caring responsibilities.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such estimate has been made.
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 assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of (a) the breast cancer monitoring device and (b) other innovative medical devices on (i) early cancer detection rates and (ii) patient outcomes.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not yet assessed the potential impact of breast cancer monitoring devices. This technology is at an early stage and further evidence is needed before we can assess whether it could be trialled in medical settings.
Improving the early diagnosis of cancer, including breast cancers, is a priority for the National Health Service. NHS England has an ambition to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage one or two by 2028, which will help tens of thousands of people live for longer. NHS England is working to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS) which sets a target of 28 days from urgent referral by a general practitioner or screening programme, to patients being told that they have cancer, or that cancer is ruled out.
In January 2022 the Department provided £10 million of funding for 28 new breast screening units and nearly 60 life-saving upgrades to services in the areas where they are most needed, so more women can be checked for signs of cancer, speeding up diagnosis and treatment.
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 assessment she has made of the potential impact of breast cancer monitoring devices on global health outcomes.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not yet assessed the potential impact of breast cancer monitoring devices. This technology is at an early stage and further evidence is needed before we can assess whether it could be trialled in medical settings.
Improving the early diagnosis of cancer, including breast cancers, is a priority for the National Health Service. NHS England has an ambition to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage one or two by 2028, which will help tens of thousands of people live for longer. NHS England is working to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS) which sets a target of 28 days from urgent referral by a general practitioner or screening programme, to patients being told that they have cancer, or that cancer is ruled out.
In January 2022 the Department provided £10 million of funding for 28 new breast screening units and nearly 60 life-saving upgrades to services in the areas where they are most needed, so more women can be checked for signs of cancer, speeding up diagnosis and treatment.
Asked by: Dehenna Davison (Conservative - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has taken steps to amend NICE guidelines relating to potentially painful and unnecessary hysteroscopies for people requiring diagnostic testing for cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for making decisions independently on whether its guidelines should be updated in light of new evidence or emerging issues not in the scope of the original guideline.
The NICE has published a number of guidelines that relate to the diagnosis of cancer or hysteroscopies, and is currently updating its guideline on the assessment of treatment of fertility problems. The NICE currently expects to publish final updated guidance in May 2025.
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 are taking to ensure NHS England is meeting the Faster Diagnosis Standard for lower gastrointestinal cancer referrals.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is taking steps to achieve the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), which aims to ensure people with cancer or suspected cancer, including lower gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, are diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days of referral. The Department is working jointly with NHS England on implementing the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 related backlogs in elective care, which includes 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.
To achieve the FDS target specifically, NHS England has implemented a timed pathway for lower GI cancer, by requiring faecal immunochemical testing (FIT) for patients in primary and secondary care settings on a suspected lower GI cancer pathway. FIT testing prevents patients from having unnecessary colonoscopies, freeing up capacity for these procedures and ensuring the most urgent symptomatic patients are seen more quickly. Across 2022/2023 the proportion of lower GI referrals with a related FIT test rose from 24% to 69%.
NHS England is also implementing non symptom specific pathways for patients who present with non-specific symptoms, or combinations of non-specific symptoms, that can indicate several different cancers, including symptoms that may indicate lower GI cancers.
In addition, at the 2021 Spending Review the Government awarded £2.3 billion to transform diagnostic services from 2022 to 2025, most of which will help increase the number of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) up to 160 by March 2025, prioritising CDCs for cancer services. General practice teams have also been given direct access to tests like computed tomography scans, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasounds, helping to cut waiting times and speed up the diagnosis of, or ruling out of, cancer. This funding is also being used to expand endoscopy capacity within acute settings and in CDCs.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) 3D mammography and (b) other new screening technologies to support the early diagnosis of breast cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is aware of research into the use of three-dimensional (3D) mammography and the growing interest to use artificial intelligence (AI) in the National Health Service breast screening programme. Guidance has been published on GOV.UK on the use of Tomosynthesis 3D imaging in a clinical trial setting as part of the NHS breast screening programme.
The UK NSC had also worked with Health Technology Assessments to design an evaluation of existing AI in a prospective study to look at whether it could be used to read breast screening mammograms.
There are currently no plans to adopt these technologies, but evidence to inform a UK NSC decision on the use of 3D mammography and AI in the NHS breast screening programme will be reviewed by the Committee when available.