This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Petition Increase investment in Pancreatic Cancer research
Research into this cancer has been underfunded for decades. It only receives 2% of the UK cancer research budget. This is 3 times less than research spent on breast cancer. By investing in researchers, earlier diagnosis & better treatments & care can be found to treat one of the deadliest cancers.
More details
More than half of patients die within 3 months of diagnosis, for my Grandfather it was just 9 days. Diagnosis of this cancer can take a long time, often with many visits to the doctors & possible misdiagnoses along the way. Around 80% of pancreatic cancer patients are not diagnosed until the cancer is at an advanced stage. At this late stage, surgery is usually not possible – this is the only known treatment that has the potential to cure the disease.
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months
Government responded
This response was given on 23 April 2021
The Department of Health and Social Care’s National Institute for Health Research is funding and supporting a wide range of pancreatic cancer research, and would welcome more funding applications.
Read the response in full
Research is crucial in the fight against cancer. That is why the Department of Health and Social Care invests £1bn per year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). NIHR cancer research expenditure has risen from £101 million in 2010/11 to £138 million in 2019/20. This constitutes the largest investment in a disease area.
The Department welcomes more high-quality research applications on pancreatic cancer, and especially on early diagnosis. The Department is relying on researchers to develop proposals in this difficult area. In this respect, the Department particularly welcomes Pancreatic Cancer UK’s Early Diagnosis Research Alliance initiative, which aims to bring researchers together to share their thinking. The Department hopes this will generate ground-breaking research ideas and stands ready to fund such ideas through the NIHR.
The NIHR is funding a range of pancreatic cancer research. Some examples include:
• Treatment of unresectable Locally Advanced Pancreas (LAP) cancer with Percutaneous Irreversible Electroporation (PIE) following initial systemic chemotherapy (£246K)Translational proteomics to understand and overcome drug resistance to targeted anticancer drugs in KRAS and PIK3CA driven cancers (£1.9m)
• A phase II trial of endoscopic ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation of cystic tumours of the pancreas (RADIOCYST) (£291k)
The NIHR is also supporting the delivery in the health and care system of pancreatic cancer research funded by research funding partners in the charity and public sectors. For example, over the last five years the NIHR Clinical Research Network has supported over 100 pancreatic cancer studies at an estimated cost of over £3 million per year.
Together with NHS England, NHS Improvement and the National Cancer Research Institute, the Department joined the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce research roundtable event, which included pancreatic cancer, to consider how the number of high-quality research applications can be increased for these difficult-to-treat cancers. For more information on the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce, please visit: http://lesssurvivablecancers.org.uk/
Increasing the number of cancers that are diagnosed earlier is a top priority for the Government and the NHS. This is why the NHS Long Term Plan sets an ambition to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage 1 or 2 by 2028. To deliver on this ambition, NHS England and Improvement are setting up Rapid Diagnostic Centres (RDCs) which bring together diagnostic equipment and expertise to streamline diagnostic services for cancer. Currently, there are 65 RDC pathways live across England.
Cancer Alliances are using the RDC model to improve the diagnostic experience for patients who are suspected of having particular cancers, including pancreatic cancer. And, while lower than for other cancers, early diagnosis rates for pancreatic cancer have been improving, increasing by 2.9 percentage points between 2014 and 2017, from 21.0% to 23.9%. As a result, survival rates have also steadily increased.
NHS England will be introducing a Faster Diagnostic Standard of 28 days for all cancer patients, including those with pancreatic cancer, which when taken together with the 62-day referral to treatment standard, will mean that all patients should expect to start their treatment within 34 days of diagnosis. This is a maximum, and Trusts should continue to treat patients more quickly particularly where there is a strong clinical need.
Systems will be expected to meet the new Faster Diagnosis Standard from Q3, to be introduced initially at a level of 75%. To support delivery, Faster Diagnosis Standard data will begin to be published from spring 2021.
As we seek to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer, Public Health England (PHE) have launched a Campaign Resource Centre, which will deliver its award-winning marketing campaigns on a local level. For more information, please click on the following link: https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/campaigns
The Department have worked throughout the pandemic to ensure that cancer treatment has continued, with the latest data showing cancer treatment is being maintained at nearly 90% of pre-pandemic levels.
NHS England & Improvement has been working closely with local cancer alliances to establish action plans across systems. The establishment of safe Covid-19-protected surgical hubs has been a key part of these plans. These hubs protect cancer patients from immunocompromised infection. All 21 cancer alliances across England now have arrangements in place for cancer hubs.
Department for Health and Social Care
Related activity
MPs hold inquiry into cancer services in England
The House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee is holding an inquiry into why cancer outcomes in England continue to lag behind comparable countries internationally. The Committee is examining evidence relating to the underlying causes of these differences.
The Committee is also considering what impact disruption to cancer services during the covid-19 pandemic have had on efforts to catch up, and whether the ambitions set out in the NHS Long Term Plan will help close the gap with the best performing countries worldwide.
Read about the inquiry here: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1377/cancer-services/news/156443/mps-seek-evidence-on-why-england-lags-behind-in-cancer-survival/
You can find future announcements about the inquiry here: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1377/cancer-services/
The submission period for written evidence for this inquiry has now passed, but you can view submitted written evidence here: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1377/cancer-services/publications/
We’re letting you know about this inquiry because you signed a petition calling on the Government to increase investment in pancreatic cancer research, and we thought this inquiry may be of interest to you.
What is the Health and Social Care Committee?
The Health and Social Care Committee scrutinises the work of the Department of Health and Social Care and its associated public bodies. It examines government policy, spending and administration on behalf of the electorate and the House of Commons. It's a cross-party committee and is independent of the Government.
Find out more on their website: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/81/health-and-social-care-committee/
You can get updates on their work by following the Committee on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CommonsHealth
This is a ‘select committee’. Find out how Select Committees work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c
You can also sign up to the UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference: https://learning.parliament.uk/en/your-uk-parliament-newsletter-sign-up-form/
Share your views on improving cancer diagnosis and treatment with the Government
The Government is asking cancer patients, their relatives and NHS staff for their views on how it can save thousands more lives each year by improving the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in England.
Responses to the consultation will be used to inform the development of the Government’s 10-year Cancer Plan for England. The issues the Government is asking for views on include how to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer, and improving access to and experiences of cancer treatment.
Find out more and share your views: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/10-year-cancer-plan-call-for-evidence
The consultation closes on 1 April 2022. It is open to anyone aged 16 or over.
Who is running the consultation?
The consultation is being run by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), the Government Department responsible for the NHS and oversight of social care in England.
Find out more about DHSC: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care
What is the 10-Year Cancer Plan?
The 10-Year Cancer Plan for England will set out a new vision for how the NHS will deliver world-leading cancer care in England.
It will consider how to make the most of new innovations and what patient experience should look like in 2032. It will also consider how to build on lessons learned from the covid-19 pandemic. It is expected to be set out in the summer.
Find out more: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/health-and-social-care-secretary-to-launch-new-10-year-national-war-on-cancer