Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she has taken to support (a) research into and (b) treatment of lung cancer caused by mutations in the TP53, EGFR, and KRAS genes.

The Department invests over £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Since 2018/19 the NIHR has invested more than £44 million in funding and support for lung cancer research.

The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including lung cancer caused by genetic mutations. As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors including scientific potential, and the number and scale of successful funding applications.

The NIHR also supports the delivery, in the health and care system, of lung cancer research funded by research funding partners in the charity and public sectors. Since 2018/19 the NIHR Clinical Research Network has supported over 400 lung cancer research studies.

The Government is working jointly with NHS England on implementing the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care and 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 activity, including for all lung cancers. The focus on improving cancer treatment includes supporting advances in radiotherapy using cutting-edge imaging and technology to help target radiation doses at cancer cells more precisely.

The Department is supporting the National Health Service to roll out innovative lung cancer treatments, offered through the Cancer Drugs Fund and approved by the National Institute of Care and Excellence. Sotorasib was made available from March 2022 to target the kirsten rat sarcoma virus genetic mutation. Mobocertinib has been made available as treatment options for patients with the epidermal growth factor receptor gene mutation.