Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to increase (a) early diagnosis and (b) survival rates of pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
In January 2019, NHS England published the NHS Long Term Plan which set the ambition to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage one and two by 2023, when it is easier to treat and increases survival outcomes.
To achieve this ambition, the Department is working with NHS England to increase early diagnosis and survival rates for those with cancer, including pancreatic cancer, and plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis, as set out in the Elective Recovery Plan published in February 2022. In addition, the Government has awarded £2.3 billion to transform diagnostic services over the next three years, most of which will help increase the number of Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) up to 160 by March 2025, prioritising CDCs for cancer services.
The National Health Service has implemented ‘non-specific symptom pathways’ for patients who have symptoms that do not align to a particular type of tumour, including for non-specific symptoms of pancreatic cancer. There are 103 pathways currently in place with the aim to have national coverage by March 2024.
To encourage people to see their general practitioner if they notice symptoms that could be cancer, NHS England runs the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaigns, which address the barriers that deter patients from accessing the NHS. In addition, the NHS has allocated £10 million to innovations to support earlier and more efficient diagnosis, including the PinPoint blood test and a new genetic test that can be used as a ‘liquid biopsy’ for those with suspected pancreatic cancer.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to increase funding for (a) screening and (b) treating ovarian cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department invests in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including ovarian cancer research.
Currently, there is no national screening programme for ovarian cancer, in part due to the unsuitability of the blood test as a screening tool. No funding has been allocated for screening for ovarian cancer.
However, it is worth noting that the NIHR has funded six research projects into screening for ovarian cancer since 2018, with a combined total funding value of £3.8 million. The NIHR also supports delivery in the health and care system for screening for ovarian cancer research funded by research funding partners in the charity and public sectors.
The Department is committed to timely access to clinically and cost-effective new cancer drugs on the National Health Service. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence appraises all new cancer medicines, including for gynaecological cancers. The Cancer Drugs Fund supports patient access to the most promising new cancer medicines while further evidence is collected, including for ovarian cancer.
On ovarian cancer awareness, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Twickenham on 9 May 2023 to Question 183186.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
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 raise awareness of ovarian cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department invests in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including ovarian cancer research.
Currently, there is no national screening programme for ovarian cancer, in part due to the unsuitability of the blood test as a screening tool. No funding has been allocated for screening for ovarian cancer.
However, it is worth noting that the NIHR has funded six research projects into screening for ovarian cancer since 2018, with a combined total funding value of £3.8 million. The NIHR also supports delivery in the health and care system for screening for ovarian cancer research funded by research funding partners in the charity and public sectors.
The Department is committed to timely access to clinically and cost-effective new cancer drugs on the National Health Service. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence appraises all new cancer medicines, including for gynaecological cancers. The Cancer Drugs Fund supports patient access to the most promising new cancer medicines while further evidence is collected, including for ovarian cancer.
On ovarian cancer awareness, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Twickenham on 9 May 2023 to Question 183186.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the potential impact of benzodiazepine use on (a) dementia risk, (b) brain health and (c) cancer risk.
Answered by Will Quince
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring that medicines, medical devices and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assess the available data and, where appropriate, seeks the advice of the Commission on Human Medicines, the MHRA’s independent advisory committee, to inform decisions. All data relating to the safety of a medicine must be held by the Marketing Authorisation Holder and the MHRA notified about any data which impacts the safety of their products.
The MHRA holds information that has been reported through the Yellow Card scheme regarding suspected adverse reactions, which may include dementia, neurological disorders or cancers, and details of the suspected adverse reactions reported are available on the MHRA website. Published literature on the impact on dementia risk, brain health and cancer risk is not specifically held by the MHRA but can be accessed to support safety evaluations.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to increase the availability of the CA125 blood test for the screening of ovarian cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
We do not currently screen for ovarian cancer, in part due to the unsuitability of the CA125 blood test as a screening tool. CA125 blood testing is not deemed by the UK National Screening Committee to be accurate enough for the purpose of screening. The blood test is offered to those who have symptoms that could be ovarian cancer as a part of routine diagnostics.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
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 diagnosis times for pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department is working with NHS England to improve diagnosis for those with cancer, including pancreatic cancer. The Elective Recovery Plan, published on 8 February 2022, set out the ambition that 75% of patients who have been urgently referred by their general practitioner (GP) for suspected cancer will be diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days by March 2024. To deliver this plan, the Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis.
In addition, the Government has awarded £2.3 billion to transform diagnostic services over the next three years. Most of this will help increase the number of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) up to 160 by March 2025, prioritising CDCs for cancer services.
The National Health Service has implemented ‘non-specific symptom pathways’ for patients who have symptoms that do not align to a particular type of tumour, including for non-specific symptoms of pancreatic cancer. There are 103 pathways currently in place, with the aim being to have national coverage by March 2024.
To encourage people to see their GP if they notice symptoms that could be cancer, NHS England runs the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaigns, which address the barriers that deter patients from accessing the NHS.
In addition, the NHS has allocated £10 million to innovations to support earlier and more efficient diagnosis, including the PinPoint blood test and a new genetic test that can be used as a ‘liquid biopsy’ for those with suspected pancreatic cancer.
Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
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 the survival rate for pancreatic cancer; and whether policies on increasing the survival rate will be included in the Major Conditions Strategy.
Answered by Will Quince
Early diagnosis is key to improving survival rates for pancreatic cancer. The Department is working with the National Health Service to improve diagnosis and treatment for those with cancer. The Elective Recovery Plan, published on 8 February 2022, set out the ambition that 75% of patients who have been urgently referred by their general practitioner for suspected cancer will be diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days by March 2024.
The pancreatic cancer clinical audit, led by the Royal College of Surgeons, began in 2021, with the first outcomes expected in 2023/24. A key aim of the audit is to support NHS services to stimulate improvements in cancer detection, treatment and outcomes for patients, including improving survival rates.
In addition, the NHS has allocated £10 million to innovations to support earlier and more efficient diagnosis, including the PinPoint blood test and a new genetic test that can be used as a ‘liquid biopsy’ for those with suspected pancreatic cancer.
The Major Conditions Strategy will look at the treatment and prevention of cancer, covering the patient pathway. The strategy will consider a wide range of interventions and enablers to improve outcomes and experience for cancer patients.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the age limits on each of the NHS screening programmes and the justification for each limit.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All National screening programmes are introduced based on recommendations made by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). The UK NSC assesses and evaluates the evidence to offer screening when it will offer more good than harm. Screening age ranges are selected based on the range where the evidence supports that balance.
The National Health Service breast screening programme invites eligible women to be screened every three years from the age of 50 up to their 71st birthday.
The NHS bowel screening programme invited men and women every two years from ages 60 to 74 years old. The programme is expanding to make it available to everyone aged 50 to 59 years old. This is happening gradually over four years and started in April 2021.
The NHS cervical screening programme invites people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 49 for screening every three years, whilst people aged 50 to 64 receive an invitation every five years.
The NHS abdominal aortic aneurysm screening programme offers men a screening the year they turn 65.
The NHS diabetic eye screening programme is offered to anyone with diabetes who is 12 years old or over. Those eligible are invited for an annual screening.
The NHS targeted lung cancer screening programme that has been recently announced will invite people aged 55 to 74 identified as being at high risk of lung cancer for screening.
For antenatal screening programmes, pregnant women are invited early for screening once the pregnancy has been confirmed. This includes the NHS foetal anomaly screening programme and NHS infectious diseases in pregnancy.
Screening for newborns is also offered early at a time when conditions can be detected and where early treatment can improve the baby’s health and prevent severe disability or even death. Newborn screening programmes include the NHS newborn blood spot screening programme, the NHS newborn hearing screening programme, the NHS newborn and infant physical examination screening programme and the NHS sickle cell and thalassaemia screening programme.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 provide blood tests to help detect cancer.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Blood tests are used to support the diagnoses of many conditions and diseases, including cancer. For example, tests such as the Full Blood Count can be used to inform the diagnoses of blood cancers and other tests detect blood proteins that can be indicative of the body’s immune system response to the presence of cancer cells.
The science and understanding of cancer is advancing, as are the opportunities to detect cancer in patients with no symptoms using blood tests. The Grail-Galleri trial, that aims to help the National Health Service with research into early cancer detection in patients without symptoms, is an example of this advancement.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to help ensure that vulnerable people receive any medial treatment they need in Enfield North constituency.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
North Central London Integrated Care System (NCL ICS) , which covers the Enfield North constituency, has implemented a range of initiatives to ensure vulnerable people receive the medical treatment they need. This includes extending availability of general practitioner appointments to seven days a week, working with communities in the borough to understand their needs and to inform the commissioning and delivery of services, and raising the profile of preventive services, such as NHS cancer screening services and NHS health checks. Specific Inclusion Health initiatives are also being implemented across NCL ICS to target vulnerable groups, like people experiencing homelessness, and specific areas of concern, like blood born viruses.
The NCL Inequalities Fund has funded a variety of projects which, alongside the range of public health and preventative services commissioned by Enfield Local Authority through the Public Health Grant, aim to increase access to health and care services for under-served communities. Some examples of these are smoking cessation services, the ABC Parents Project, oral health promotion services, sexual health services and health visiting services.