Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the progress made on (a) preventing and (b) treating all types of brain tumours.

The Government, through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), announced £40 million of funding over five years for brain tumour research as part of the Tessa Jowell Mission. This funding will help the Tessa Jowell Centres of Excellence to develop a one-year curriculum to train specialist brain tumour oncologists. The NIHR is also collaborating with key medical research charities to bring together industry and researchers and ensure that patients continue to benefit from charity-funded research.

The NIHR is also engaging with UK Research and Innovation colleagues, to maximise the effectiveness of Government budgets, in generating and translating these new scientific discoveries as into new treatments and diagnostics for patients. A 2018 review of evidence suggested that approximately 2.5% of brain and central nervous system cancers are attributable to modifiable causes. The majority of these are attributed to excess weight.

Public Health England supports local authorities and the National Health Service to commission weight management services that are based on and align with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance for weight management. These types of activities may help prevent brain tumours attributable to modifiable causes.

Treatment decisions for brain tumours should always be made by doctors based on a patient’s individual clinical needs and preferences. Brain tumours can be treated using a number of treatment modalities, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as appropriate to the tumour type, size and position. These treatments fall within the scope of NHS England direct commissioning responsibilities for specialised services.