Jeremy Hunt proudly announced a promise that included the use of gold standard dye across the whole of the UK. A dye that is used to identify brain tumours in surgery, but is only currently used in half of the brain cancer centres in England. As well as speeding up of adaptive trials to test treatments and an annual global conference to bring together experts on brain cancers from all over the world, hosted by the government.
Since then, £25m of the money promised has never seen the light of day. A report from the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on brain tumours has found that of the £15m awarded, £6m is “not easily identifiable as relevant to brain tumours,” and five years later, there are still no new treatments, and the five-year survival chances for patients remains at a depressing 12%.
A large amount of research activity and funding is dependent on charitable donations, and actual government support is sparse
A record number of people in England are waiting longer than ever for cancer treatment, with the number of patients waiting more than three months surpassing 12,000 for the first time. It appears that the promised global conferences haven’t materialised either.
Data from the National Cancer Research Institute – a partnership of government and large charity research funders – shows that £17.6 million was spent on research in the 2020/21 financial year. Though the APPG’s analysis of this funding reveals that the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research contributed “£1 million each, with Cancer Research UK contributing the most, £13 million.” These reports have revealed that a large amount of research activity and funding is dependent on charitable donations, and actual government support is sparse.
Far too little of the money previously promised has reached the hands of the researchers who can make a difference
As for reasons for the failure of the promised government spending, MP Derek Thomas, chair of the APPG, said “We are hearing that the current system is too complicated, it doesn’t connect laboratory work with what is happening in clinics, that there is no up-to-date and robust database for people to understand if they could be eligible for clinical trials, and that far too little of the money previously promised has reached the hands of the researchers who can make a difference.”
The APPG report describes the current funding system as unfit for purpose, speaking of a “valley of death” in which potential new treatments developed in the laboratory never get past the unnecessary complexities of the way research is funded and, therefore, never reach patients. The report raises issues in the treatment of terminally ill children, who continue to be denied access to last resort clinical trials despite their parents’ wishes, along with the national brain tumour research database being “not reliable.”
The government must act now in order to recognise brain tumour research as a critical priority
Thomas continues, “The sad fact is that brain tumour patients do not have the luxury of time, the government must act now in order to recognise brain tumour research as a critical priority, appoint a champion, and ringfence sufficient funds to make a difference.”
Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, explains that waiting time targets have not been fully met since December 2015, and that she is calling on the government to publish an “ambitious and fully funded” 10-year cancer plan. “Only then will we see significant improvements in early diagnosis and survival.”
The key recommendations from the APPG report were that the Government should recognise brain tumour research as a critical priority, join up research from basic science through to clinical trials, allow patients with brain tumours equity of access to trials of new anti-cancer drugs, as well as ring-fencing specific funding for research into childhood brain tumours where survival rates have remained unchanged for decades.
On a more positive note, the report does identify and describe “pockets of excellence” found in research centres and recognises the hard-working and dedicated workforce who go above and beyond for their patients - however the focus is now back on the government to put forward a tangible strategy to make use of the money promised.