Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is taking steps to help (a) increase the number of (i) children and (ii) young adults who are recruited to and (b) the development of medical trials for young people with cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department-funded National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds research and research infrastructure which supports patients and the public participate in high-quality research. Between 2018/19 and 2021/22, NIHR provided £35.2 million in funding for childhood cancer, equating to 7.8% of total cancer spend. Through the NIHR Clinical Research Network, NIHR supported the opening of 94 children’s cancer studies between 2018 and 2022, and the recruitment of 5,356 participants.
Since 2012, NIHR has funded a network of Paediatric Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres, dedicated to early-phase research on childhood cancers. This has enabled the development of a robust national trial network with international recognition.
In addition, 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. This makes it easier for people to find and take part in health and care research that is relevant to them.