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The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has issued an important update in response to numerous complaints about the current state of brain cancer treatment in the UK. This update relates to an active petition that has surpassed 20,000 signatures, advocating for enhanced funding initiatives to address the situation.
According to the Brain Tumour Charity, brain tumours are now the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among children and adults under 40 in the UK. Each year, about 13,000 individuals, including 900 children and young people, receive a diagnosis of a primary brain tumour.
In light of these statistics, a parliamentary campaign urged the Government to consider increased funding to provide patients with a fighting chance. The campaign highlighted that ‘treatments haven’t changed in decades’ and called for expanded exploratory research initiatives.
Addressing these concerns, the DHSC acknowledged the need for more action and announced that a National Cancer Plan will be unveiled later this year. Their statement, released on October 3, said: “Every brain cancer diagnosis profoundly impacts patients and their families. Research is crucial to ensure access to the most advanced treatments and top-notch care.”
“From 2018/19 to 2023/24, the Department of Health and Social Care, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has allocated £11.8 million directly to brain tumour research projects and programs.
“Estimates show that NIHR’s broader investments in research infrastructure amount to £37.5 million, facilitating 261 brain tumour research studies and allowing over 11,400 people to engage in potentially transformative research. Despite this, we recognize the necessity of further efforts to enhance research into brain tumours.”
The DHSC also insisted that it is now ‘working closely’ with patient and research communities to ‘stimulate high-quality research applications’. This has included establishing a national Brain Tumour Research Consortium and a dedicated funding call.
Nevertheless, it emphasised that there are ‘no plans’ to introduce a new ‘Right to Try’ initiative for new treatments. In the US, the Right to Try Act allows eligible patients with life-threatening conditions to access unapproved investigational treatments under certain conditions.
The DHSC’s response continued: “Regarding new and personalised treatments, the government is committed to securing patient access to effective and innovative new medicines, including for brain tumours. There are established routes to support timely access for NHS patients to safe and clinically- and cost-effective new medicines and there are no plans to introduce a new Right to Try initiative for new treatments.
“The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) evaluates all new medicines and makes recommendations for the NHS on whether they should be routinely funded by the NHS. NICE aims wherever possible to issue guidance on new medicines close to the point of licensing and our Life Sciences Sector Plan published in July sets out the measures we are taking to streamline decision making to accelerate patient access to new medicines by three to six months.
“The NHS in England is required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, and NHS England funds cancer medicines from the point of positive draft NICE guidance, accelerating patient access by around five months on average.”
In addition, the department also added: “In terms of future publications, the National Cancer Plan, due to be published later this year, will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and aftercare.
“It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care, to improve the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years, including for brain cancer.”
The petition entitled ‘Invest in brain cancer and give rights – turn terminal into treatable’ has already garnered more than 20,000 signatures. If it reaches 100,000, it will be considered for a debate in Parliament.
You can view the petition in full here.
