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.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make a comparative assessment of the adequacy of the reasons the (a) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has been unable and (b) Scottish Medicines Consortium has been able to recommend Enhertu for use on the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service in England on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS, based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. Decisions on the availability of medicines in Scotland are a matter for the devolved administration.
The NICE published guidance in 2021 and 2023 recommending Enhertu, also known as trastuzumab deruxtecan, for the treatment of NHS patients with HER2-positive breast cancer through the Cancer Drugs Fund, and it is now available to eligible NHS patients in England in line with the NICE’s recommendations.
The NICE is currently evaluating Enhertu for the treatment of metastatic HER2-low breast cancer, and has not yet published final guidance. Stakeholders have had an opportunity to appeal against the NICE’s draft recommendations, and the NICE will consider any appeals through the established process and publish final guidance in due course.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NICE is taking steps to make Enhertu available to the National Health Service to treat incurable HER2-low secondary breast cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing guidance for the National Health Service on whether Enhertu can be recommended for routine NHS funding, based on an assessment of the costs and benefits. The NICE was unfortunately unable to recommend Enhertu as a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources in its final draft guidance published on 5 March 2024. Stakeholders have had an opportunity to appeal against the NICE’s draft recommendations, and the NICE will consider any appeals through the established process, and will publish final guidance in due course.
Asked by: Craig Tracey (Conservative - North Warwickshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of using breast density assessment software at women's first breast cancer screening appointments; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of that technology on women's awareness of their personal risk of developing breast cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Breast Screening Risk Adaptive Imaging for Density trial is looking into the use of supplementary imaging techniques for women, within the standard breast screening programme, who are found to have radiographically dense breast tissue. The UK National Screening Committee, which advises ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries in the United Kingdom, will review this evidence when it becomes available.
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 estimate she has made of the timeline for meeting cancer screening uptake targets for (a) breast, (b) cervical, (c) bowel and (d) prostate cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving uptake in all screening programmes, including for breast, bowel, and cervical screening. There is no national screening programme for prostate cancer. The improvement in cancer screening programmes is not predicated on a specific timeline, but is focusing on targeting specific groups where uptake is low.
NHS England has developed a national improvement plan in collaboration with key stakeholders to improve uptake within the breast screening programme. This plan will encompass a series of evaluative projects, which are expected to report in April 2024
A range of improvements and innovations have been brought in to help improve uptake in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. For example, appointments are being made available during evenings and weekends, and in some areas cervical screening appointments can be made in any primary care setting, rather than just at one’s own general practice.
In addition, we are also working to test the effectiveness of human papillomavirus infection self-sampling as a primary cervical screening option, with individuals taking their own cervical screening sample. The findings from this evaluation will be used to inform a UK National Screening Committee recommendation, and it is expected that self-sampling could lead to an increase in uptake as it will reduce some of the barriers that prevent people from attending a screening.
Uptake in the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme is currently above the achievable threshold of 60%, between 1 July and 30 September 2023 it was 67.4%, and therefore the focus for this screening programme is on gradually reducing the age of the eligible cohort from 60 years old down to 50 years old, to increase to numbers eligible for this 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 she is taking to increase the uptake of screening for (a) breast, (b) cervical, (c) bowel and (d) prostate cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving uptake in all screening programmes, including for breast, bowel, and cervical screening. There is no national screening programme for prostate cancer. The improvement in cancer screening programmes is not predicated on a specific timeline, but is focusing on targeting specific groups where uptake is low.
NHS England has developed a national improvement plan in collaboration with key stakeholders to improve uptake within the breast screening programme. This plan will encompass a series of evaluative projects, which are expected to report in April 2024
A range of improvements and innovations have been brought in to help improve uptake in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. For example, appointments are being made available during evenings and weekends, and in some areas cervical screening appointments can be made in any primary care setting, rather than just at one’s own general practice.
In addition, we are also working to test the effectiveness of human papillomavirus infection self-sampling as a primary cervical screening option, with individuals taking their own cervical screening sample. The findings from this evaluation will be used to inform a UK National Screening Committee recommendation, and it is expected that self-sampling could lead to an increase in uptake as it will reduce some of the barriers that prevent people from attending a screening.
Uptake in the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme is currently above the achievable threshold of 60%, between 1 July and 30 September 2023 it was 67.4%, and therefore the focus for this screening programme is on gradually reducing the age of the eligible cohort from 60 years old down to 50 years old, to increase to numbers eligible for this programme.
Asked by: Jason McCartney (Conservative - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department plans to take to increase breast screening uptake; how much funding she plans to make available for the breast screening uptake improvement plan developed by NHS England; and what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the breast screening programme.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving uptake in the NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHS BSP), and is working with NHS England on the development of the breast screening improvement plan.
At this time, NHS England has not requested any additional funding to support the delivery of the breast screening improvement plan. Assessment of the effectiveness of the NHS BSP is made through the regular accountability meetings, under the Public Health Functions Section 7A Agreement.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if her Department will meet with the Lobular Moon Shot Project to discuss lobular breast cancer research.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I have recently met with the Lobular Moon Shoot Project to discuss how government can support lobular breast cancer research.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of (a) the breast cancer monitoring device and (b) other innovative medical devices on (i) early cancer detection rates and (ii) patient outcomes.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not yet assessed the potential impact of breast cancer monitoring devices. This technology is at an early stage and further evidence is needed before we can assess whether it could be trialled in medical settings.
Improving the early diagnosis of cancer, including breast cancers, is a priority for the National Health Service. NHS England has an ambition to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage one or two by 2028, which will help tens of thousands of people live for longer. NHS England is working to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS) which sets a target of 28 days from urgent referral by a general practitioner or screening programme, to patients being told that they have cancer, or that cancer is ruled out.
In January 2022 the Department provided £10 million of funding for 28 new breast screening units and nearly 60 life-saving upgrades to services in the areas where they are most needed, so more women can be checked for signs of cancer, speeding up diagnosis and treatment.