Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that any new system of appraisal for cancer medicines will include in its remit appraisal for drugs which treat conditions with small patient populations.
Answered by George Freeman
NHS England has advised that it intends to jointly consult with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on proposals for a new Cancer Drugs Fund operating model. This will include the future arrangements for the evaluation of cancer drugs, including drugs for rarer cancers with small patient populations. Members of the public and any interested parties will have the opportunity to consider and comment on these proposals.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the closure to new medicines on the Cancer Drugs Fund list on patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia.
Answered by George Freeman
Neither the Department nor NHS England has made any such assessment. NHS England has advised that, although it is not considering new applications to the national Cancer Drugs Fund list at this time, there have been no new drugs launched for chronic myeloid leukaemia in the past 12 months.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of a potential link between a diagnosis of diabetes and an increased risk of pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Department has made no recent assessment of a potential link between a diagnosis of diabetes and an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. However, it is recognised that diabetes is a risk factor for development of pancreatic cancer. This is reflected in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence updated guideline Suspected cancer: recognition and referral, published on 23 June 2015. This sets out that an urgent referral for a computerised tomography scan or ultrasound scan should be considered in people aged 60 or over with weight loss and new-onset diabetes.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve public awareness of pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Early diagnosis of cancer including for those with pancreatic cancer is a major priority for this Government in helping us to improve cancer survival. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published an updated guideline “Suspected cancer: recognition and referral” on 23 June 2015. The guideline reflects latest evidence and will continue to support general practitioners to identify patients, including those with symptoms of suspected pancreatic cancer, and urgently refer them as appropriate.
In England, to support early diagnosis of cancer, we have invested over £22 million in Be Clear on Cancer campaigns between 2010-11 and 2014-15, to raise awareness of various cancer types and encourage people with relevant cancer symptoms to visit their doctor promptly. Public Health England working with the Department, NHS England and other partners will continue to keep these campaigns under review to see and work with relevant experts to see what might be done to tackle other cancers.
Research and evidence of best practice is shared widely across the United Kingdom. However, as health is a devolved matter Ministers do not routinely discuss health issues with their counterparts.
More generally, NHS England is working jointly with Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support to test seven new approaches to identifying cancer more quickly. The aim is to evaluate a number of initiatives across more than 60 sites around the country to collect evidence about what makes the most difference to patients.
In January 2015, NHS England announced an independent Cancer Taskforce to develop a five-year strategy for England which will recommend improvements across the cancer pathway, including awareness and early diagnosis. The strategy will be published in the summer.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent conversations he has had with Health Ministers in the devolved administrations to improve awareness of (a) pancreatic cancer and (b) other types of cancer across the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Early diagnosis of cancer including for those with pancreatic cancer is a major priority for this Government in helping us to improve cancer survival. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published an updated guideline “Suspected cancer: recognition and referral” on 23 June 2015. The guideline reflects latest evidence and will continue to support general practitioners to identify patients, including those with symptoms of suspected pancreatic cancer, and urgently refer them as appropriate.
In England, to support early diagnosis of cancer, we have invested over £22 million in Be Clear on Cancer campaigns between 2010-11 and 2014-15, to raise awareness of various cancer types and encourage people with relevant cancer symptoms to visit their doctor promptly. Public Health England working with the Department, NHS England and other partners will continue to keep these campaigns under review to see and work with relevant experts to see what might be done to tackle other cancers.
Research and evidence of best practice is shared widely across the United Kingdom. However, as health is a devolved matter Ministers do not routinely discuss health issues with their counterparts.
More generally, NHS England is working jointly with Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support to test seven new approaches to identifying cancer more quickly. The aim is to evaluate a number of initiatives across more than 60 sites around the country to collect evidence about what makes the most difference to patients.
In January 2015, NHS England announced an independent Cancer Taskforce to develop a five-year strategy for England which will recommend improvements across the cancer pathway, including awareness and early diagnosis. The strategy will be published in the summer.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of women over the age of 50 being diagnosed with advanced stage cervical cancer.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Early diagnosis of cancer is a major priority for this Government in helping us to improve cancer survival.
The NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England offers screening to women aged 50 to 64 every five years to help detect and treat any cervical abnormalities at an early stage. Public Health England continues to work with NHS England to develop a system of performance improvement to increase screening coverage amongst all eligible age groups, particularly in disadvantaged communities. We fully support efforts to warn women aged 50 to 64 about the risks of missing their appointments, as it is important that women above vaccination age realise that cervical screening is the best way to prevent cervical cancer.
In April 2012 the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) gave its support for a pilot to assess the value of using human papilloma virus (HPV) testing as primary screening for cervical disease, rather than the currently used cytology test. The pilot is establishing the feasibility of using HPV as the primary screen for cervical disease in order to achieve better outcomes for women, while minimising over-treatment and anxiety, and whether it is practical to roll out nationally. The UK NSC will open a public consultation shortly on whether HPV as primary screening for cervical disease should replace the currently used cytology test.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is in the process of updating the “Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer” (2005) to ensure that it reflects latest evidence and can continue to support general practitioners (GPs) to identify patients with the symptoms of suspected cancer, including gynaecological cancers and urgently refer them as appropriate. Women under 25 who are concerned about their risk of developing cervical cancer should contact their GP.
A cervical screening test is primarily used for screening purposes, and is unlikely to be appropriate when a woman has gynaecological issues that are symptomatic of cancer.
When a woman is experiencing gynaecological problems which are symptomatic of gynaecological cancer, their GP would be expected to refer them to the appropriate specialist without needing to conduct a screening test.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve public awareness of the link between HPV and the development of cervical cancer.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England offers screening to women aged 50 to 64 every five years to help detect and treat any cervical abnormalities at an early stage.
Public Health England continues to work with NHS England to develop a system of performance improvement through the use of performance floors, and strengthened governance for screening. The aims of the performance floors are:
- Improving performance and equity of service over time by reducing the range of variation at a local level including improving access to cervical screening for women aged 50 and over; and
- Enabling easy identification of poor performance and the setting of objectives and plans for local action, to reduce variation and improve performance.
In April 2012 the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) gave its support for a pilot to assess the value of using human papilloma virus (HPV) testing as primary screening for cervical disease, rather than the currently used cytology test. The pilot is establishing the feasibility of using HPV as the primary screen for cervical disease in order to achieve better outcomes for women, while minimising over-treatment and anxiety, and whether it is practical to roll out nationally. The UK NSC will open a public consultation shortly on whether HPV as primary screening for cervical disease should replace the currently used cytology test.
Information for women of all ages on cervical cancer and HPV is freely available on the NHS Choices website at:
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cancer-of-the-cervix/pages/introduction.aspx
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve cervical screening coverage for women over the age of 50.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England offers screening to women aged 50 to 64 every five years to help detect and treat any cervical abnormalities at an early stage.
Public Health England continues to work with NHS England to develop a system of performance improvement through the use of performance floors, and strengthened governance for screening. The aims of the performance floors are:
- Improving performance and equity of service over time by reducing the range of variation at a local level including improving access to cervical screening for women aged 50 and over; and
- Enabling easy identification of poor performance and the setting of objectives and plans for local action, to reduce variation and improve performance.
In April 2012 the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) gave its support for a pilot to assess the value of using human papilloma virus (HPV) testing as primary screening for cervical disease, rather than the currently used cytology test. The pilot is establishing the feasibility of using HPV as the primary screen for cervical disease in order to achieve better outcomes for women, while minimising over-treatment and anxiety, and whether it is practical to roll out nationally. The UK NSC will open a public consultation shortly on whether HPV as primary screening for cervical disease should replace the currently used cytology test.
Information for women of all ages on cervical cancer and HPV is freely available on the NHS Choices website at:
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cancer-of-the-cervix/pages/introduction.aspx
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase investment in pancreatic cancer research in the UK.
Answered by George Freeman
My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health (Jane Ellison) has met recently with my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood (Eric Ollerenshaw) to discuss pancreatic cancer research and the report by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pancreatic Cancer and will write to the APPG shortly with comments on the report’s recommendations.
The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health including pancreatic cancer. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.
The available funding for all topic areas including pancreatic cancer is subject to future allocation of the Department’s research and development budget. A budget figure for 2015-16 will be set later this year.
The NIHR is funding a £2 million five-year programme of research to understand the reasons why cancer diagnosis may be delayed, and to consider new designs for testing for cancer. The programme is a partnership between the Universities of Bristol, Cambridge, Bangor, Durham, Oxford, Exeter, the NIHR and Bristol NHS Clinical Commissioning Group. The programme objectives are to design and test new service pathways to cancer diagnosis which are based on sound medical evidence, make efficient use of resources and take full account of patients' views. The programme includes a study of factors influencing patient appraisal of symptoms and associations with cancer diagnosis. Participants in this study have been referred by their general practitioner to hospital for further investigation of symptoms suggestive of pancreatic, lung, or colorectal cancer.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will commission early diagnosis research projects specific to pancreatic cancer.
Answered by George Freeman
My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health (Jane Ellison) has met recently with my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood (Eric Ollerenshaw) to discuss pancreatic cancer research and the report by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pancreatic Cancer and will write to the APPG shortly with comments on the report’s recommendations.
The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health including pancreatic cancer. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.
The available funding for all topic areas including pancreatic cancer is subject to future allocation of the Department’s research and development budget. A budget figure for 2015-16 will be set later this year.
The NIHR is funding a £2 million five-year programme of research to understand the reasons why cancer diagnosis may be delayed, and to consider new designs for testing for cancer. The programme is a partnership between the Universities of Bristol, Cambridge, Bangor, Durham, Oxford, Exeter, the NIHR and Bristol NHS Clinical Commissioning Group. The programme objectives are to design and test new service pathways to cancer diagnosis which are based on sound medical evidence, make efficient use of resources and take full account of patients' views. The programme includes a study of factors influencing patient appraisal of symptoms and associations with cancer diagnosis. Participants in this study have been referred by their general practitioner to hospital for further investigation of symptoms suggestive of pancreatic, lung, or colorectal cancer.