Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to improve breast cancer outcomes amongst Black women.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing inequalities and improving breast cancer outcomes for ethnic minority women, including black women, is a priority for the Government. To support this work, NHS England has commissioned six new cancer clinical audits, which will provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments, and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatments and outcomes for patients, including metastatic breast cancer. The Royal College of Surgeons began work on this audit in October 2022, and the first outcomes are expected in September 2024.
NHS England is also leading a programme of work to tackle healthcare inequalities centred around five clear priorities, which are set out in operational planning guidance for the health system. The Core20PLUS5 approach for adults has been rolled out as an NHS England framework to focus action on reducing inequalities on issues within the National Health Services’ direct influence, which are major contributors to inequalities in life expectancy through major conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and others, or Long-Term Plan priorities where stark inequalities are evident, such as maternity or severe mental illness.
The key actions for systems as highlighted in NHS England’s planning guidance for 2024/25 is to continue to deliver against the five strategic priorities for tackling health inequalities. Additionally, by the end of June 2024, NHS England aims to publish joined-up action plans to address health inequalities, and implement the Core20PLUS5 approach.
Improving earlier diagnosis of cancers, including breast cancer, is also a priority for the Government. The NHS has an ambition to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage 1 or 2 by 2028, which will help tens of thousands of people live for longer. Additionally, the new cancer standards developed and supported by cancer doctors and implemented in October 2023, will ensure patients are diagnosed faster, and that treatment starts earlier. In the 2023/24 Operational Planning Guidance, NHS England announced that it is providing over £390 million in cancer service development funding to Cancer Alliances in each of the next two years, to support the delivery of the strategy and the operational priorities for cancer, which includes increasing and prioritising diagnostic and treatment capacity.
Whilst the Major Conditions Strategy does not seek to describe everything that is being done, or could be done, to meet the challenges of individual conditions in silo, it instead focuses on the changes likely to make the most difference across the six groups of major conditions, including cancer.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been provided for research into (a) lobular breast cancer and (b) other forms of breast cancer in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is proud to invest £1.3 billion per year into health research, with more spent on cancer than any other disease group, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Department officials meet regularly to discuss a wide-range of our investments, including into lobular and other breast cancers, to drive the maximum collective research impact on policy, practice, and individual lives. The NIHR invests in translational and implementation research to drive innovations into policy and practice.
We are proud to have invested £29 million into the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Royal Marsden NIHR Biological Research Centre in 2022, supporting their efforts to strengthen research into cancer, including lobular breast cancer. This is complemented by wider investments into breast cancer research including, for example, a £1.3 million project to determine whether an abbreviated form of breast magnetic resonance imaging can detect breast cancers missed by screening through mammography, again including lobular breast cancer. Our support to the NIHR’s Clinical Research Network has enabled the delivery of 10 further lobular breast-cancer related studies.
While the NIHR cannot respond to direct solicitations for funding, instead commissioning on the basis of research excellence, we would welcome more applications from researchers on lobular breast cancer, including from the ICR. The NIHR funds research on cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment and care, which saves lives.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support NHS England to facilitate negotiating a better price for the drug trastuzumab deruxtecan.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is responsible for negotiating commercial agreements with individual companies, and the Department encourages companies to come forward with proposals that represent value to the taxpayer. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published final draft guidance for appeal on the use of trastuzumab deruxtecan for the treatment of HER2-low metastatic or unresectable breast cancer after chemotherapy, and was unable to recommend it as a clinically and cost effective use of National Health Service resources at the price offered by the company. Following extensive discussions through late 2023 and into 2024, NHS England is no longer engaged in any active commercial negotiations on this topic, but remains available to work with the NICE, should AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo be willing to offer trastuzumab deruxtecan at a price that represents value to the NHS.
Report Apr. 22 2024
Committee: Health, Social Care and Sport CommitteeFound: have been found to contain disturbing amounts of false information, including that abortion causes breast
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions her Department has had with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on funding for (a) the Lobular Moon Shot Project and (b) other research into lobular breast cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests £1.3 billion per year into health research, with more spent on cancer than any other disease group, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). We work closely with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Medical Research Council (MRC), who are responsible for channelling a large proportion of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s investments in this area. Our officials meet regularly to discuss a wide range of our investments, including into lobular and other breast cancers, to drive the maximum collective research impact on policy, practice, and individual lives. While research to understand the mechanisms of cancer, including lobular breast cancer, is largely funded through UKRI and the MRC, the NIHR invests in translational and implementation research to drive innovations into policy and practice.
Launched in 2023, the Lobular Moonshot Project is a high-level funding proposal and campaign to raise money to support the Institute for Cancer Research (ICR), with whom we meet regularly, to invest in fellowships and projects in lobular breast cancer. We are proud to have invested £29 million in the ICR and Royal Marsden NIHR Biological Research Centre in 2022, supporting their efforts to strengthen research into cancer, again including lobular breast cancer. This is complemented by wider investments into breast cancer research, for example, a £1.3 million project to determine whether an abbreviated form of breast magnetic resonance imaging can detect breast cancers missed by screening through mammography, such as lobular breast cancer. Our support to the NIHR Clinical Research Network has enabled the delivery of 10 further lobular breast-cancer related studies.
Additionally, the NIHR supports breast cancer research funded by research partners in the charity and public sectors through the NIHR’s Clinical Research Network (CRN). Over the last five years, the CRN has supported delivery of 10 lobular breast cancer-related studies conducted by other partners. While the NIHR cannot respond to direct solicitations for funding, instead commissioning on the basis of research excellence, we would welcome more applications from researchers on lobular breast cancer, including from the ICR. The NIHR funds research on cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and care, which saves lives.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to provide support to the Lobular Breast Cancer Project.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests £1.3 billion per year into health research, with more spent on cancer than any other disease group, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). We work closely with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Medical Research Council (MRC), who are responsible for channelling a large proportion of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s investments in this area. Our officials meet regularly to discuss a wide range of our investments, including into lobular and other breast cancers, to drive the maximum collective research impact on policy, practice, and individual lives. While research to understand the mechanisms of cancer, including lobular breast cancer, is largely funded through UKRI and the MRC, the NIHR invests in translational and implementation research to drive innovations into policy and practice.
Launched in 2023, the Lobular Moonshot Project is a high-level funding proposal and campaign to raise money to support the Institute for Cancer Research (ICR), with whom we meet regularly, to invest in fellowships and projects in lobular breast cancer. We are proud to have invested £29 million in the ICR and Royal Marsden NIHR Biological Research Centre in 2022, supporting their efforts to strengthen research into cancer, again including lobular breast cancer. This is complemented by wider investments into breast cancer research, for example, a £1.3 million project to determine whether an abbreviated form of breast magnetic resonance imaging can detect breast cancers missed by screening through mammography, such as lobular breast cancer. Our support to the NIHR Clinical Research Network has enabled the delivery of 10 further lobular breast-cancer related studies.
Additionally, the NIHR supports breast cancer research funded by research partners in the charity and public sectors through the NIHR’s Clinical Research Network (CRN). Over the last five years, the CRN has supported delivery of 10 lobular breast cancer-related studies conducted by other partners. While the NIHR cannot respond to direct solicitations for funding, instead commissioning on the basis of research excellence, we would welcome more applications from researchers on lobular breast cancer, including from the ICR. The NIHR funds research on cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and care, which saves lives.
Apr. 19 2024
Source Page: Scotland's Genomic Medicine Strategy 2024-2029Found: Genomics is also transforming how we study, diagnose and treat cancer with cancer-related testing now
Asked by: Dowey, Sharon (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - South Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that the 62-day cancer treatment standard is met in NHS Ayrshire and Arran.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care
£11.3 million of additional funding has been directed to support Cancer Waiting Times improvements in our NHS across 2023-24, of which NHS Ayrshire & Arran received a share of £838,000.
Funding has been targeted towards the most challenged specialties, including breast, colorectal and urology. This funding includes investment to support extended working days and weekend working to increase capacity and treat patients as timely as possible.
In addition, NHS Ayrshire & Arran have established a Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service (RCDS). The RCDS provides primary care with access to a new referral pathway for people with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancer. The Services are a useful addition to how cancer can be diagnosed in Scotland providing a new fast-track diagnostic pathway for people with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancer, such as weight loss and fatigue.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing lymphaticovenous anastomosis surgery on the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No formal assessment has been made of the potential merits of providing lymphaticovenous anastomosis surgery on the National Health Service. On 16 April 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published interventional procedures guidance that states that lymphovenous anastomosis during axillary dissection for preventing secondary lymphoedema in adults with breast cancer, can be used in the NHS while more evidence is generated, and that it can only be used with special arrangements for clinical governance, consent and audit, or research. The NICE’s interventional procedures guidance makes recommendations for the NHS on whether procedures are sufficiently safe and efficacious for use in routine clinical practice.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support women with a genetic history of breast cancer to access screening services in (a) England and (b) Leicestershire.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In Leicestershire and nationwide, women with a very high risk (VHR) of breast cancer due to family history may be offered screening earlier and more often, as part of the NHS Breast Screening Programme.
Women formally identified as eligible for VHR breast screening are referred to the National Health Service breast screening service associated with their general practice. They are eligible to be screened from the age of 25 years old upwards, and should be invited every year. The diagnostic screen includes mammography or magnetic resonance imaging, depending on age and risk criteria, and is therefore not the same as the routine breast screening service. To support screening of VHR women, a new central database is planned to ensure all referrals reach NHS breast screening services.