Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to monitor people with inherited cancer risk for less survivable cancers.

The Department is supporting NHS England with initiatives to monitor people with an inherited risk of less survivable cancers. The 10-Year Health Plan commits to expanding genomic testing for inherited causes of major diseases to allow for earlier detection and intervention, including for cancer.

In June 2024, NHS England launched the national NHS Jewish BRCA Testing Programme to identify cancer earlier for people with Jewish ancestry, including genetic testing for patients diagnosed historically with an eligible breast or ovarian cancer. BRCA genetic mutations carry a risk of developing other cancers such as pancreatic cancer.

For pancreatic cancer, which the latest data showed has the lowest survivable rate with inherited risk, NHS England is working with The European Registry of Hereditary Pancreatitis and Familial Pancreatic Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer UK, and Cancer Alliances to improve surveillance pathways and access to surveillance for people with inherited high risk of pancreatic cancer.

In June 2025, NHS England launched a new initiative for general practices to analyse patient records to identify people aged over 60 years old who have the key early warning signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer including diabetes and sudden weight loss. Additionally, Pancreatic Cancer UK has launched the Family History Checker, supported by NHS England. The tool allows people, and their families, affected by pancreatic cancer to self-assess if they have inherited risk.

Furthermore, improving the early detection of cancers, including less survival cancers, is also a priority for the National Cancer Plan, which will be published later this year.