Rare Cancers: Diagnosis
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 74 of his Department's document entitled National Cancer Plan for England, published on 4 February 2026, what progress he has made on implementing action 4 in the Rare and less common cancers section; whether his Department has a timeline to introduce the regular publication of data on the occurrence of the emergency diagnoses of non‑stageable cancers, including blood and brain cancers; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including such data into early diagnosis performance metrics.
Answered by Mrs Sharon Hodgson
The National Cancer Plan for England sets out a comprehensive ten-year strategy to transform cancer outcomes across the country. Rare and Less Common Cancers have been prioritised through the National Cancer Plan, to drive forward progress for cancers that have previously been neglected.
To meet its obligations for rare cancers, the Government will appoint a new national clinical lead for rare cancers. This national clinical lead will have a clear mandate to speak up for rare cancers, and to provide clinical advice and support for the delivery of the actions in the plan.
Brain and some blood cancers such as leukaemia cannot be staged in the same way as other cancers and are therefore not included in current early‑diagnosis measures. However, the Plan commits to publishing regular data on the number of these cancers diagnosed in emergency settings, as a proxy for late or ineffective diagnosis. Moreover, adding this to the basket of early diagnosis metrics we prioritise will help incentivise systems and providers to focus on earlier diagnosis of blood and brain cancers. This will happen across the lifetime of the plan.
Across the life of the National Cancer Plan, Ministers will publish an annual summary of progress, along with a more in-depth report after three years to assess where the plan may need updating and refreshing.
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