Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing Optune on the NHS for the treatment of brain cancer; and if he will make a statement.

In the guidelines on primary brain tumours and brain metastases in adults published in July 2018, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends that tumour-treating fields, such as Optune, should not be offered as part of management of a newly diagnosed grade IV glioma or as part of management of recurrent high-grade glioma.

These recommendations are based on an assessment of the available evidence on clinical and cost effectiveness.