Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will commission research on (a) innovative pathways to diagnose cancer earlier and (b) encouraging the use of such pathways in the NHS.

The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (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 ends in June 2015.

The Department’s Policy Research Programme funds the Policy Research Unit in Cancer Awareness, Screening and Early Diagnosis at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London. The unit carries out research to inform the development of policies that promote diagnosis of cancers at an earlier stage than that prevailing at the moment. These might include policies to enhance access to screening and diagnostic facilities, technical innovations in screening and diagnosis, policies to improve public awareness of cancer and cancer symptoms, and to encourage prompt seeking of medical advice for symptoms. The unit is addressing this need with a programme of research carried out in all areas of England in co-operation with screening services, primary and secondary care.

We take the issue of ensuring rapid access to innovative therapies, including those for cancer, very seriously. This is why we have launched an external review of the pathways for the development, assessment and adoption of innovative medicines and medical technology. This review will consider how to speed up access for National Health Service patients to cost-effective new diagnostics, medicines and devices. It will set out both short and long-term options for action by Government and relevant bodies (including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and NHS England), and mark a major contribution to the policy debate.