£15m cash injection improves access to advanced radiotherapy

Almost 8,000 cancer patients are to benefit from the rollout of an advanced radiotherapy technique with fewer side effects, following the announcement of a £15m investment by the Government.

Prime Minister, David Cameron, and Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, have this week launched the Cancer Radiotherapy Innovation Fund, which will expand the NHS’s capacity to deliver life-saving advanced radiotherapy treatment by April 2013.

The money will be used to speed up the use of Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) across the NHS so that more cancer patients can benefit.

The technique targets more precise doses of radiation at a tumour, while minimising the impact on surrounding healthy tissue. It is particularly beneficial for patients with head and neck cancers, reducing the likelihood of side effects such as damage to salivary glands, which make it difficult to enjoy and digest food.

For too long our cancer survival rates have lagged behind other comparable countries. We want to make sure that cancer services in England are world class and that NHS patients receive the best quality treatments that are available

The move comes as new figures show that a great majority of the 50 radiotherapy treatment centres across England are not using this technique for all the patients for whom it is clinically appropriate and who would benefit.

Radiotherapy experts will work with Cancer Research UK and the relevant professional bodies to help designated radiotherapy centres to adopt this new technique by providing support and training and helping them to bid for funding that can be used to deliver the services safely and at the right levels.

This builds on the success of the Cancer Drugs Fund, which has already benefitted more than 21,000 patients. The £15m radiotherapy innovation fund will cover the remainder of 2012-13.

From April 2013, because cancer treatments will be planned and paid for nationally by the NHS Commissioning Board, for the first time cancer patients will be considered for the most appropriate radiotherapy treatment regardless of where they live. For example, this means that all patients with brain tumours who needed stereotactic radiosurgery would have equal access to this treatment.

Radiotherapy is one of the most clinically and cost-effective treatments for cancer and this funding will bring our additional investment in radiotherapy over the Spending Review period to £165m

Cameron said: “We’re making sure that more people get the drugs and treatments they need. We are making £15m available straight away to make sure our NHS staff are trained to give treatments like this. We already have a guarantee for drugs – that if they’re safe, cost-effective and doctors say you need them, you will get them. From April 2013, for the first time ever, we’re extending that guarantee to radiotherapy too. This is going to help thousands of people at one of the hardest times of their lives.”

Hunt added: “We want to make sure that cancer services in England are world class and that NHS patients receive the best quality treatments that are available.

“For too long our cancer survival rates have lagged behind other comparable countries. We have already committed to improving survival rates, saving an additional 5,000 lives a year. In addition, we want to make sure that cancer survivors have as good a quality of life as possible, minimising possible side effects.

“Radiotherapy is one of the most clinically and cost-effective treatments for cancer and this funding will bring our additional investment in radiotherapy over the Spending Review period to £165m.”