Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current average time from test request to result for tests provided by NHS England's genomic medicine laboratories; and what assessment they have made of the impact of those turnaround times on patient access to appropriate treatment for (1) SOD1 testing in motor neurone disease, (2) germline BRCA1/2 testing in hereditary female cancers, and (3) homologous recombination deficiency testing in breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In December 2025, the average turnaround time for genomic tests processed through the NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs were 42 days for the test code which includes SOD1 analysis for motor neuron disease, as well as other clinical indications, 37 to 42 days for germline BRCA1/2 testing, and 22 days for homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) testing for ovarian carcinomas. These are within the national targets of 42 days for the test code which includes SOD1 analysis for motor neuron disease and BRCA1/2 and 28 days for HRD, supporting timely clinical decision‑making. As genomic results directly inform treatment choices for motor neurone disease, hereditary female cancers, and ovarian carcinoma, maintaining these turnaround times is essential to ensuring patients can access appropriate therapies without delay.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
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 utilise electronic health records indicating familial genetic predisposition to improve risk identification for men at increased risk of prostate cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Retrospective Genetic Testing Programme is using electronic health records to identify people who have had a cancer diagnosis, between 2008 and 2018, making them eligible for inherited breast and ovarian cancer genetic testing on R208/R207 panels in line with the criteria set out in the National Genomic Test Directory, but who have not received testing. This will identify more people and their family members who have cancer susceptibility genes, including BRCA1/2 variants, enabling them to access relevant National Health Service screening and care pathways as appropriate.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will consider the final recommendation of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) on screening for prostate cancer when it is received. He will make a decision on implementation, including any changes to the identification of men at risk of prostate cancer at that point.
It is anticipated that the final recommendation will be provided in early 2026 after the conclusion of a 12 week consultation which opened on 28 November 2025. This seeks views on an evidence review and a draft recommendation to:
- offer a targeted national prostate cancer screening programme to men with confirmed BRCA1/2 gene variants every two years, from 45 years old to 61 years old;
- not recommend population screening;
- not recommend targeted screening of black men;
- not recommend targeted screening of men with family history; and
- collaborate with the Transform trial team to answer outstanding questions on screening effectiveness for black men and men with a family history as soon as the trial data becomes available, and to await the results of the study to develop and trial a more accurate test than the prostate specific antigen test alone, to improve the balance of benefit and harm of screening.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 ensure continuity and improvement of national cancer awareness campaigns following the abolition of NHS England, including plans to raise awareness of the symptoms of gynaecological cancers and support earlier diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Early diagnosis of cancer remains a key priority for the Government. The Government will continue to work to ensure that the public is aware of cancer symptoms, especially for cancers such as ovarian cancer, which are harder to detect in the early stages.
We will work to ensure a smooth transition during the merger of NHS England and the Department, so that the public continues to have access to high-quality cancer care.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of stilbestrol on women.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency continuously assesses the benefit and risk balance of all medicines, at the time of initial licensing and throughout their use in clinical practice, carefully evaluating any emerging evidence on their benefits and risks.
In 1971, a United States study identified that diethylstilbestrol (DES) could cause a distinct type of cancer in the daughters of women who took DES in early pregnancy. It was subsequently contraindicated in pregnancy, pre-menopausal women, children, and young adults. The issue of DES and vaginal carcinoma in the daughters of women who took DES in pregnancy was reviewed by the predecessor to Commission on Human Medicines, the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) in the early 1970s. In 1973, CSM wrote to all doctors to inform them of the results of the US study and the absence of identified cases in the United Kingdom.
A small increased risk of breast cancer in women who received DES whilst pregnant was first identified in the 1980s and confirmed in further studies in the 1990s, when a longer follow up of women who had taken DES was available. No increased risk of other cancers has been established, including endometrial cancer or ovarian cancer.
Since 1992, the National Cancer Institute at the US National Institutes of Health has been conducting the DES Follow-up Study of more than 21,000 mothers, daughters, and sons exposed in the womb during the mother’s pregnancy, to better understand the long-term health effects of exposure to DES. The findings of this follow up have been published in scientific literature.
Daughters of individuals exposed to DES are at increased risk of clear cell cancer of the cervix and vagina. The current advice from the NHS England is that routine cervical screening is appropriate for those who believed they were exposed to DES in utero.
Participation in the National Breast Screening Programme is also recommended. Pregnant women who know that they were exposed in utero to DES should inform their obstetrician and be aware of the increased risks of ectopic pregnancy and preterm labour.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 improve public and primary care awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms, in the context of data from the National Ovarian Cancer Audit showing that four in 10 women are admitted as an emergency 28 days prior to diagnosis, often leading to poorer outcomes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing the number of lives lost to cancer in England, including ovarian cancer, is a key aim of the National Cancer Plan which will be published in the new year. The plan will set out in further detail how the Government will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including ovarian cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.
The Government knows that many ovarian cancer patients are still left waiting too long for a diagnosis and treatment and so will push to get the National Health Service diagnosing and treating it faster, so that more patients survive the disease and have an improved experience across the system. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the productivity and modernisation efforts needed to return to the 18-week constitutional standard by the end of this Parliament. The plan commits to transforming and expanding diagnostic services and speeding up waiting times for tests, a crucial part of reducing overall waiting times and returning to the referral to treatment 18-week standard. This includes expanding existing community diagnostic centres (CDCs), as well as building up to five new ones in 2025/26, to support the NHS to return to meeting the elective waiting time constitutional standard. The plan also commits to CDCs opening 12 hours per day, seven days a week, delivering more same-day tests and consultations and an expanded range of tests, many of which can support the diagnosis of gynaecological cancers, including ovarian cancer.
To support early diagnosis, NHS England is taking a wide range of activity to increase awareness of ovarian cancer. NHS England relaunched the Help Us Help You cancer campaign on the 8 January 2024, to encourage people to get in touch with their general practitioner if they notice, or are worried about, symptoms that could be cancer. Previous phases of the campaign have focused on abdominal symptoms which, among other abdominal cancers, can be indicative of ovarian cancer. NHS England and other NHS organisations, nationally and locally, publish information on the signs and symptoms of many different types of cancer, including ovarian cancer. This information can be found at sources including the NHS website, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to ensure women’s health hubs and community diagnostic centres are utilised to support earlier diagnosis of gynaecological cancers, including ovarian cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing the number of lives lost to cancer in England, including ovarian cancer, is a key aim of the National Cancer Plan which will be published in the new year. The plan will set out in further detail how the Government will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including ovarian cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.
The Government knows that many ovarian cancer patients are still left waiting too long for a diagnosis and treatment and so will push to get the National Health Service diagnosing and treating it faster, so that more patients survive the disease and have an improved experience across the system. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the productivity and modernisation efforts needed to return to the 18-week constitutional standard by the end of this Parliament. The plan commits to transforming and expanding diagnostic services and speeding up waiting times for tests, a crucial part of reducing overall waiting times and returning to the referral to treatment 18-week standard. This includes expanding existing community diagnostic centres (CDCs), as well as building up to five new ones in 2025/26, to support the NHS to return to meeting the elective waiting time constitutional standard. The plan also commits to CDCs opening 12 hours per day, seven days a week, delivering more same-day tests and consultations and an expanded range of tests, many of which can support the diagnosis of gynaecological cancers, including ovarian cancer.
To support early diagnosis, NHS England is taking a wide range of activity to increase awareness of ovarian cancer. NHS England relaunched the Help Us Help You cancer campaign on the 8 January 2024, to encourage people to get in touch with their general practitioner if they notice, or are worried about, symptoms that could be cancer. Previous phases of the campaign have focused on abdominal symptoms which, among other abdominal cancers, can be indicative of ovarian cancer. NHS England and other NHS organisations, nationally and locally, publish information on the signs and symptoms of many different types of cancer, including ovarian cancer. This information can be found at sources including the NHS website, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what measures the National Cancer Plan will implement to improve ovarian cancer survival in England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing the number of lives lost to cancer in England, including ovarian cancer, is a key aim of the National Cancer Plan which will be published in the new year. The plan will set out in further detail how the Government will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including ovarian cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.
The Government knows that many ovarian cancer patients are still left waiting too long for a diagnosis and treatment and so will push to get the National Health Service diagnosing and treating it faster, so that more patients survive the disease and have an improved experience across the system. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the productivity and modernisation efforts needed to return to the 18-week constitutional standard by the end of this Parliament. The plan commits to transforming and expanding diagnostic services and speeding up waiting times for tests, a crucial part of reducing overall waiting times and returning to the referral to treatment 18-week standard. This includes expanding existing community diagnostic centres (CDCs), as well as building up to five new ones in 2025/26, to support the NHS to return to meeting the elective waiting time constitutional standard. The plan also commits to CDCs opening 12 hours per day, seven days a week, delivering more same-day tests and consultations and an expanded range of tests, many of which can support the diagnosis of gynaecological cancers, including ovarian cancer.
To support early diagnosis, NHS England is taking a wide range of activity to increase awareness of ovarian cancer. NHS England relaunched the Help Us Help You cancer campaign on the 8 January 2024, to encourage people to get in touch with their general practitioner if they notice, or are worried about, symptoms that could be cancer. Previous phases of the campaign have focused on abdominal symptoms which, among other abdominal cancers, can be indicative of ovarian cancer. NHS England and other NHS organisations, nationally and locally, publish information on the signs and symptoms of many different types of cancer, including ovarian cancer. This information can be found at sources including the NHS website, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of survival rates for bladder cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving cancer outcomes, including for bladder cancer, is a priority for the Government. The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will set out further actions to improve earlier diagnosis, expand access to the latest treatments and technologies, and improve survival rates across England.
National cancer registry data shows a small but sustained decline in bladder cancer survival rates over recent years. One-year survival fell from approximately 72% to 69.6%, and five-year survival from 51.5% to 47.2% between 2007 to 2011 and 2016 to 2020.
To improve treatment times, we have invested £70 million of funding into new radiotherapy treatment machines to replace older, less efficient machines. These new machines are currently being rolled out to trusts throughout the country. These newer machines will reduce treatment times, boost productivity, and allow more patients to be seen over the same period.
In addition, non-specific symptom pathways have been introduced to speed up diagnosis for patients whose symptoms may indicate cancer but which do not align clearly with a specific tumour type. This helps ensure that more patients are referred, investigated, and diagnosed earlier, including cases of bladder cancer that present with broader or less specific symptoms.
The NHS Cancer Programme has commissioned 10 national clinical audits covering breast, ovarian, pancreatic, lung, prostate, oesophago-gastric, bowel, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and kidney cancers. These were selected as auditing was expected to have the greatest impact on reducing unwarranted variation in care. For this reason, there are currently no plans to undertake a national clinical audit for bladder cancer, though bladder cancer outcomes continue to be monitored through existing national cancer datasets.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of undertaking a National Bladder Cancer Audit.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving cancer outcomes, including for bladder cancer, is a priority for the Government. The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will set out further actions to improve earlier diagnosis, expand access to the latest treatments and technologies, and improve survival rates across England.
National cancer registry data shows a small but sustained decline in bladder cancer survival rates over recent years. One-year survival fell from approximately 72% to 69.6%, and five-year survival from 51.5% to 47.2% between 2007 to 2011 and 2016 to 2020.
To improve treatment times, we have invested £70 million of funding into new radiotherapy treatment machines to replace older, less efficient machines. These new machines are currently being rolled out to trusts throughout the country. These newer machines will reduce treatment times, boost productivity, and allow more patients to be seen over the same period.
In addition, non-specific symptom pathways have been introduced to speed up diagnosis for patients whose symptoms may indicate cancer but which do not align clearly with a specific tumour type. This helps ensure that more patients are referred, investigated, and diagnosed earlier, including cases of bladder cancer that present with broader or less specific symptoms.
The NHS Cancer Programme has commissioned 10 national clinical audits covering breast, ovarian, pancreatic, lung, prostate, oesophago-gastric, bowel, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and kidney cancers. These were selected as auditing was expected to have the greatest impact on reducing unwarranted variation in care. For this reason, there are currently no plans to undertake a national clinical audit for bladder cancer, though bladder cancer outcomes continue to be monitored through existing national cancer datasets.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 increase survival rates for bladder cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving cancer outcomes, including for bladder cancer, is a priority for the Government. The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will set out further actions to improve earlier diagnosis, expand access to the latest treatments and technologies, and improve survival rates across England.
National cancer registry data shows a small but sustained decline in bladder cancer survival rates over recent years. One-year survival fell from approximately 72% to 69.6%, and five-year survival from 51.5% to 47.2% between 2007 to 2011 and 2016 to 2020.
To improve treatment times, we have invested £70 million of funding into new radiotherapy treatment machines to replace older, less efficient machines. These new machines are currently being rolled out to trusts throughout the country. These newer machines will reduce treatment times, boost productivity, and allow more patients to be seen over the same period.
In addition, non-specific symptom pathways have been introduced to speed up diagnosis for patients whose symptoms may indicate cancer but which do not align clearly with a specific tumour type. This helps ensure that more patients are referred, investigated, and diagnosed earlier, including cases of bladder cancer that present with broader or less specific symptoms.
The NHS Cancer Programme has commissioned 10 national clinical audits covering breast, ovarian, pancreatic, lung, prostate, oesophago-gastric, bowel, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and kidney cancers. These were selected as auditing was expected to have the greatest impact on reducing unwarranted variation in care. For this reason, there are currently no plans to undertake a national clinical audit for bladder cancer, though bladder cancer outcomes continue to be monitored through existing national cancer datasets.