Cancer

(asked on 1st December 2014) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to increase screening for cancers.


Answered by
Earl Howe Portrait
Earl Howe
Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
This question was answered on 15th December 2014

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation. It keeps evidence in support of new programmes under review. Where stakeholder organisations or individuals feel that there is enough evidence published in peer reviewed journals to consider screening for a condition they can submit a proposal to the UK NSC. For further information please see the UK NSC’s website:

http://www.screening.nhs.uk/policyreview

In 2011, the UK NSC recommended that screening for bowel cancer using flexible sigmoidoscopy should be piloted as part of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme. NHS England and Public Health England are working together to set up screening centres for Bowel Scope Screening (BSS), with over 30% operational by the end of March 2014. Our commitment is to have BSS rolled out to 60% of screening centres in England by the end of March 2015, and to all screening centres in England by the end of 2016.

In early 2015 the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening is due to be published and the NELSON study, a randomised controlled lung cancer screening trial using multi-slice low-dose CT in high risk men and women, is expected to end in December 2015. Following publication of the results of these two studies the UK NSC will review its recommendation on screening women for ovarian cancer and screening current and former smokers for lung cancer.

Reticulating Splines