Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with clinical bodies on the use of seed brachytherapy to treat prostate cancer.

No such discussions have taken place between Ministers of the Department and clinical bodies.

Brachytherapy is the delivery of radiotherapy using sealed sources (sometimes described as seeds) which are placed close to the site that is to be treated. Prostate cancer: diagnosis and management, updated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in 2014, sets out a range of treatment options for prostate cancer, including brachytherapy. The guidance can be found at the following link:

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg175/resources/prostate-cancer-diagnosis-and-management-35109753913285

NHS England commissions radiotherapy treatment, including brachytherapy, nationally, as part of its remit to deliver specialised services. NHS England’s Brachytherapy and Molecular Radiotherapy service specification sets out what providers must have in place in order to offer high quality treatment and care for these specialised forms of radiotherapy. The specification can be found at the following link:

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/b01-brachytpy-molecular-radio.pdf