Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve outcomes for people with rarer cancers.

Jane Ellison

Health is, of course, a devolved matter; however, ensuring the National Health Service is able to support the use of effective treatments for rare cancers, is a key priority. The four United Kingdom health departments and Cancer Research UK are jointly funding a network of 18 Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres. These are driving the development and testing of new anti-cancer treatments to deliver real benefits for patients, including those with rare cancers.

In England, the Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, in July 2015, and made many recommendations relevant to rarer and blood cancers, focussing on improving access to diagnostic testing, and increasing patient access to the most advanced treatments.