In October 2024, as part of wider reforms which aim to improve healthcare in England, the Government announced that it would be developing a National Cancer Plan.
The Plan aims to reduce lives lost to cancer, and to deliver improved care and patient experience to those affected. Key focus areas include:
- Early diagnosis
- Improving patient pathways
- Improving treatment and research
- Improving overall outcomes
Each of these areas could improve the way that brain tumour care is delivered in England. But we’re still calling for a National Brain Tumour Strategy. We believe that this remains the only comprehensive way to address the unmet needs of people affected by brain tumours across diagnosis, care, treatment and research.
Following the initial announcement, on February 4th 2025 – World Cancer Day – the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed that a consultation would be launched to enable the public and organisations to help shape the development of the National Cancer Plan. In this blog post we’ll break down the main themes of our submission but you can read our full response here.
What did we include in our submission to the National Cancer Plan consultation?
Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of people under 40. Treatment options for those affected remain limited and too often it can take a long time for someone to be diagnosed. This has resulted in outcomes not improving significantly in decades – as mentioned by the government in the debate following its World Cancer Day statement.
This National Cancer Plan must acknowledge the unique nature of brain tumours and take steps towards delivering better care for everybody affected.
A faster, better diagnosis
For many people affected by a brain tumour, it simply takes too long to be diagnosed. Recent data suggests that cancer diagnostic pathways such as the urgent suspected cancer and non-specific symptoms pathways are not currently effective in diagnosing brain tumours.
To support Primary Care professionals with diagnosing brain tumours, our submission said that it’s vital that referral pathways are improved. Likewise, it’s important that there’s increased funding for innovation, which may lead to a faster diagnosis. There must also be clear, established pathways that enable promising innovation to reach NHS frontlines effectively.
We highlighted that current initiatives aimed at promoting early cancer diagnosis, such as the Faster Diagnosis Standard or Framework, don’t accurately capture brain tumour referrals. This is primarily because brain tumours are graded rather than staged. As a result, a suitable proxy measure is needed to better assess the timeliness of brain tumour diagnoses.
Essential care and support
People tell us that being told their diagnosis and treatment options can be a confusing and overwhelming experience. That’s why we believe it’s important that everyone has access to clear advice and compassionate, holistic support – throughout their treatment and during palliative care where needed.
Many families still struggle to access a dedicated Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS). For people living with a brain tumour, whether high or low grade, personalised care isn’t a luxury. It’s essential to make sure all their physical, emotional and practical needs are properly met.
New and better treatments
NHS standard treatment for adults with brain tumours hasn’t changed significantly in decades. While improvements to paediatric treatment for specific tumour types have begun to break through, innovations in treatment options for people diagnosed with brain tumours lags behind those available for many other forms of cancer.
In our submission, we shared information on how access to Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) can be hugely beneficial for brain tumour patients and can influence treatment choices. But timely access to WGS to sequence a patient’s entire tumour genome remains challenging. This is impacting its benefits. We put forward a solution through the adoption of new technologies.
Pioneering research
Research into brain tumours is chronically underfunded and under resourced. Figures show that just 3.2% (£22.4m) of the £700 million invested in UK cancer research funding in 2019/20 was spent on brain tumours. This must increase.
However, the challenges for research into brain tumours are more than just matters of funding. Systemic barriers must be addressed. For example, there remain large gaps in translational research which turns laboratory discoveries into new, effective treatments for patients that have the potential to increase survival and improve quality of life.
Patient access to research and clinical trials is also sparse. Data from the Institute of Cancer Research shows that clinical trials for brain tumours have the lowest recruitment levels compared to other cancer types. This is just one of the reasons why the Rare Cancers Bill proposed by Dr Scott Arthur MP, aims to incentivise research and investment into treatments for rarer cancers. In our submission, we suggested that some of the Rare Cancers Bill’s proposals, which include improving patient recruitment into clinical trials, should be included within this Plan.
Inclusion of low grade tumours
Throughout our submission to the National Cancer Plan we stressed that low grade brain tumours must be included in any programmes of work in the Cancer Plan. Low grade (non-cancerous) tumours aren’t consistently included in cancer programmes and initiatives such as the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey. But they are included in the Cancer Quality of Life Survey. But diagnosis, treatment and care for people living with low grade tumours is very similar to those with cancerous tumours and the effects can be life-altering. Therefore, low grade brain tumours must be recognised within this Cancer Plan.
Next steps in influencing the National Cancer Plan
The Cancer Plan is an opportunity for the Government and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to address the unmet needs of the brain tumour community. Many previous NHS England and government plans have failed to include the needs of the community and this can’t happen again.
The Brain Tumour Charity looks forward to working with the Government, DHSC and MPs to ensure that the voice of the brain tumour community is reflected. But we’ll also be continuing to call for the creation of a National Brain Tumour Strategy – the only way the unique challenges the entire brain tumour community face can be comprehensively addressed.