Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to assess the NHS’s capacity for fresh freezing of tumour and other tissue samples, and the impact of this capacity on improving access to innovative cancer testing and treatments.

Pathology services in England are delivered through 27 regional pathology networks, and offer a comprehensive range of tests, including the analysis of brain tissues.

Fresh-freezing, also referred to as snap-freezing, is a standard technique used by pathology networks to preserve tissue architecture without chemical fixatives, allowing for subsequent molecular or histological analysis, typically supporting research or advanced diagnostic applications.

Individual pathology services maintain their own standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fresh tissue samples and for the snap-freezing of tissue samples. These SOPs outline local capabilities and practices.

Information on the number of NHS trusts in England that have facilities for fresh freezing brain cancer tissue samples is not currently collected. However, the extent to which fresh freezing is used across NHS trusts is likely to vary depending on the availability of neurosurgery services.