What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that patients are given opportunities to participate in appropriate clinical trials for brain tumours, with regards to the Cancer Improvement Plan for NHS Wales?
In Wales, cancer research is a key component of high-quality cancer care. It is essential in improving treatments and outcomes for patients, and in producing the evidence required to make the necessary improvements in prevention, diagnosis and treatment in line with the Cancer Improvement Plan. With so many types of cancer, many of which have a very low prevalence rate per country, cancer research must be seen as a global endeavour.
Wales has made and continues to make significant infrastructure investments to play its part. We contribute to building an evidence-based approach to cancer policies and health and care services, and strengthening a culture across NHS organisations which supports and embeds research to meet the needs of the people of Wales. We also work closely in partnership with key stakeholders at a UK and international level and seek to build strong and enduring partnerships to that end.
Health and Care Research Wales has an annual budget of £47m of which £16m is distributed to NHS organisations to support and facilitate research to take place in NHS organisations allowing them to host and deliver a range of research studies across a broad range of disease areas. Over the last five years, there have been eight studies in 2019-20, nine in 2020-21, 11 in and 2021-22, 10 in 2022-23 and 10 in 2023-24 (trials might run over financial years). These include a combination of both interventional and observational and involve looking at the cause and molecular genetics of cancers, cancer treatments, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy and cancer drugs and their reactions.
Cancer has been the single biggest area of Welsh Government health research investment, and the new Cancer Research Strategy for Wales (CReSt) provides a strategic platform for co-ordinating cancer research in Wales and a further £0.5m of Welsh Government funding has been provided via Health and Care Research Wales to support implementation.
Whilst Wales-based researchers are able to apply for cancer charity and UK government funding (via the UKRI Research Councils) for brain tumour research via the Research Councils, this information is held by the funding bodies themselves and those undertaking and leading on the research studies, and not Welsh Government.
Health and Care Research Wales also buys into several NIHR research programmes which opens them to researchers based in Wales as lead and co-investigators. For instance, The FUTURE GB study, funded by NIHR is open and recruiting patients in Wales, and is looking at how useful it is to use ultrasound and diffusion tensor imaging during surgery to remove glioblastoma (brain tumours).
In terms of the number of brain tumour patients who have had discussions about taking part in brain tumour research, including clinical trials, since their diagnosis, in each of the past five years, information is not held on this. From the 10 studies currently open noted above, 146 participants have been recruited to these studies.
We want patients to have access to research studies across all conditions including brain cancer and have funded a Health and Care Research Wales Delivery Hub to provide national level support to facilitate the efficient set up of studies so that the opportunity for participants to take part in studies is available as quickly as possible. The hub also provides a horizon scanning function for all studies open across the UK, as in many cases if the condition is rare, the NHS will facilitate patients to travel to specialist sites.
Health and Care Research Wales has recently published an NHS R&D Framework, guiding health boards and NHS trusts about research excellence in the NHS where research is embraced, integrated into services and is a core part of an organisation’s culture.
Finally, Health and Care Research Wales will be launching new functionality in Spring 2024, as part of the UK Wide Be Part of Research service, to enable people to register their interest in taking part in research studies, joining a register that provides the opportunity to be matched to research activities and studies that might be suitable.