Tag: Lord Freyberg

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-01-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information (1) the National Cancer Intelligence Network, (2) Public Health England, (3) the National Institute for Health Research, and (4) the NHS more broadly, hold on mesothelioma and other less common cancers covering (a) hospital surgical volumes; (b) hospital systemic anti-cancer treatment volumes; (c) hospital radiotherapy volumes; (d) clinical trial volumes by hospital; (e) cancer stage and grade at presentation; (f) short-term patient outcomes; (g) one-year survival rates; and (h) five-year survival rates.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The National Cancer Registration Service and National Cancer Intelligence Network are both part of Public Health England and collect data on all diagnoses of cancer in England, including mesothelioma and other rare cancers.

Data on one-year survival from mesothelioma have been published and is attached. The relative survival for men at one year was 34%; varying between 27% and 39% across England. The relative survival for women at one year was 40%; varying between 24% and 70% across England.

Data on hospital surgical volumes; hospital systemic anti-cancer treatment volumes; hospital radiotherapy volumes; clinical trial volumes by hospital; cancer stage and grade at presentation; short-term patient outcomes; and five-year survival rates are not held in the format requested.

Data on whether patients have been offered/entered into a clinical trial is now mandated as part of the Cancer Outcomes and Services Dataset, so we anticipate being able to report on this in the future.

Within the current financial year, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network has recruited up to 80 trials in less common cancers in a total of 124 recruitment sites. Details of the trials recruiting at each site are in the attached table, Trials in less common cancers in portfolio of NIHR Clinical Research Network. The NIHR does not collect information on hospital surgical volumes; hospital systemic anti-cancer treatment volumes; hospital radiotherapy volumes; cancer stage and grade at presentation; short-term patient outcomes; one-year survival rates; and five-year survival rates.

With regard to National Health Service more broadly, NHS England has advised that it does not hold the information requested.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-02-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 4 February (HL5345), how many of the 20 patients with reports issued so far by the Genomic England cancer project had (1) a clinically actionable mutation for which the NHS will reimburse the costs of the treatment drug, and (2) a clinically actionable mutation for any trial currently open in the UK; and of those patients in both categories, how many had a clinically actionable mutation in open reading frames that would be covered by a simple next-generation sequencing panel test.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

In 2006 the United Nations imposed restrictions on a range of goods from entering or leaving North Korea and imposed a travel ban and asset freeze against those persons designated as persons who engage in or provide support for North Korea’s nuclear-related, other weapons of mass destruction related and ballistic missile-related programmes. These restrictions were implemented in the EU in 2007, and have subsequently been expanded by the EU.

Under the current EU Regulation, UK financial institutions are able to establish banking relationships with North Korean banking institutions if there are no reasonable grounds to believe this will contribute to North Korea’s nuclear-related, other weapons of mass destruction related or ballistic missile-related programmes. In practice, there are almost no financial links between the UK and North Korea. North Korea is almost wholly dependent on China for international assistance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-06-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 4 February (HL5344), how many of the 1,286 genomes processed by 4 February came from (1) the rare disease programmes, and (2) elsewhere in the cancer programme; and how many of those genomes from (1) the rare disease programmes and (2) the cancer programme have now been interpreted clinically, either by GEL or the General Medical Council.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Genomics England (GeL) has confirmed that all 1,286 of the genomes quoted in my Written Answer of 4 February related to the cancer programme. GeL has also confirmed that at that time 5,102 rare disease genomes had been sequenced.

GeL is in the process of developing rare disease and cancer reports and is discussing these with clinical sites. Significant work has gone into building a pipeline to process genomic and clinical data at scale. This requires collection of complete datasets and a complex design process to minimise manual interaction with the process to improve accuracy.

The work on the pipeline is not planned to have been completed and thoroughly tested until later this year, but early results are already flowing through it and GeL has returned 39 reports to pilot sites. This number will increase steadily over the coming year as experience is gained.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect lenvatinib to be available on the NHS for patients with radioiodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Ministers asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop technology appraisal guidance on the use of lenvatinb for the treatment of thyroid cancer on 22 July 2016. NICE plans to develop guidance on lenvatinib and sorafenib through the same technology appraisal and currently expects to publish draft guidance in October 2017.

In the absence of NICE guidance, it is for commissioners to make funding decisions based on the available evidence and on the patient’s individual clinical circumstances.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-01-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what molecular testing takes place in the UK in mesothelioma and other rare cancers; and how that compares to more common cancers such as breast, lung or colorectal cancer.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The UK Genetic Testing Network evaluates new genetic tests and aims to promote equity of access to genetic testing in the National Health Service. Genetic testing is not performed routinely in cases of mesothelioma and there is currently no approved genetic test for patients with mesothelioma.

In September 2015, the Department confirmed a commitment from NHS England to implement the independent Cancer Taskforce’s recommendations on molecular diagnostics. This will mean that around 25,000 additional people a year will have their cancers genetically tested to identify the most effective treatments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-02-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 4 February (HL5344) and on 11 February (HL5970), how many of the 8,000 expected clinical reports are in the cancer part of that project, as compared to the rare disease; and in the cancer part of that project, how many are planned for delivery by the end of (1) March, (2) June, and (3) September.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The 100,000 Genomes project cancer pipeline is still being evaluated and the precise proportion of the reports that will relate to cancer is not currently known.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-06-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 11 February (HL5970), how many of the 8,000 planned reports in 2016 will come from (1) the rare disease programme, and (2) the cancer programme.

Lord Prior of Brampton

At this stage, Genomics England cannot provide an exact breakdown of the 8,000 planned reports. This will depend on the participants that NHS Genomic Medicine Centres recruit.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they intend to put in place to ensure that patients with radioiodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer can receive all effective clinical treatments currently available through EU authorisation.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Changes to the process for evaluating cancer drugs were introduced at the end of July 2016 as part of the new arrangements for the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF). Under the new arrangements, all new cancer drugs are expected to be referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for evaluation through its technology appraisal programme. In some cases, NICE will recommend that the cancer drug is funded through the CDF, which enables further evaluation of its place in therapy. Drugs that have a European Union (EU) or United Kingdom marketing authorisation for radioiodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer will therefore be reviewed under this process and if found to be clinically and cost effective will become established treatment within the National Health Service.

The UK remains a member of the EU until Article 50 negotiations have concluded. EU law continues to apply and ongoing compliance with EU law is considered important in facilitating orderly transition, for negotiating purposes, and to offer certainty in the meantime. As long as the UK is subject to EU law, the present arrangements remain in place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2015-10-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to take steps to increase the number of vocational pathways in design disciplines, and if so, by how many.

Lord Nash

There are a variety of different options available to young people to enable them to gain the skills required to enter design related occupations. 14-16 year olds can study design related GCSEs and government approved technical awards. 16-19 year olds can study design related A Levels and government approved technical certificates or tech levels, which are supported by employers. Options beyond this include higher education or employment, and there are apprenticeships currently available in the field of design.

We want to go further to reform technical and professional education to develop a world-leading system to deliver the skills that the economy needs. The Productivity Plan, published in July 2015, announced the government’s intention to reform technical and professional education to provide individuals with clear, high-quality routes to employment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-01-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment the National Institute for Health Research Horizon Scanning Research and Intelligence Centre and Genomic England have made of the potential of precision oncology for less common cancers.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Genomics England undertook a comprehensive assessment of the technological and scientific challenges faced by molecular pathology in the context of the 100,000 Genomes Project. As part of the Project there has been extensive experimental work to identify best practice for molecular pathology (and more specifically genomics). In particular, the sequencing of whole tumour genomes at scale poses a significant scientific and clinical challenge. The Project is pushing these boundaries, driving new scientific knowledge and transformational change. Like all transformative projects there are barriers but the Project is providing the impetus to address those challenges.

Genomics England is working in partnership with NHS England, Health Education England and the newly inaugurated NHS Genomic Medicine Centres to facilitate the translation of scientific developments into practice, and to support the development of the molecular pathology workforce.

The Project will involve in-depth analysis of tumour genomics, creating new scientific discoveries which will in turn inform precision oncology. The Project includes both common and rare tumours to spread the transformative impact of the project across a range of cancer types.

In 2014, theNational Institute for Health Research Horizon Scanning Research and Intelligence Centreadvised the NHS England Molecular Testing Group (cancer) on the potential for horizon scanning in the use of genomic tests for cancer.