Liver Cancer
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Department has made of variation in liver cancer survival outcomes between integrated care systems; and what steps it is taking to reduce that variation.
Answered by Mrs Sharon Hodgson
As set out in the National Cancer Plan, the Department is committed to increasing survival rates across all cancer types, including liver cancer. We are working to end the postcode lottery for cancer care, by increasing access to cancer services, expanding screening, and modernising the entirety of the cancer pathway. We will continue to implement the community liver health checks programme which proactively offers fibroscans to people with cirrhosis and fatty liver disease, which will identify 4,000 patients each year at high-risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma.
The recently published National Cancer Plan sets out how we will deliver a crackdown on geographical inequalities in cancer care to drive up standards across England. New cancer manuals will set out what good care looks like, with regional partnerships of health leaders and clinicians utilising data to drive improvements where services are falling short.
National Health Service regions and Cancer Alliances will jointly identify underperforming trusts and provide intensive support, including leadership intervention, peer-to-peer mentoring, seconding senior managers from stronger trusts, and access to £200 million of ringfenced cancer funding in 2026/27 to improve cancer pathway performance and reduce delays. We publish survival data by integrated care board, with further information available at the following link:
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