Brain: Tumours

The Department has not undertaken separate, specific assessments on access, regional variation, capacity, funding of freezer capacity, and consent to brain cancer tissue freezing. However, NHS England has recently completed a gap analysis of the need for freezer capacity and is exploring options to support services to provide equitable expansion.

NHS England and the Department will work with the professional bodies, including the Royal College of Pathologists, to review tissue retention guidance. This work also includes guidance on consent of fresh-tissue freezing for all cancers, including for brain tumour patients.

NHS England has made several wider commitments to address variation in the access and provision of pathology services, particularly histopathology and genomics across England, including Essex.

The Department continues to engage with NHS England and wider stakeholders on improving access to high-quality pathology and genomics services, including those relevant to brain tumour patients. The Genomics Medicine Service has developed a Genomics Centre of Excellence for brain cancers to ensure access to whole genome sequencing (WGS) for brain tumour patients.

NHS England has issued national guidance on sample handling, including for WGS of solid tumours, to standardise the collection, processing, and transport of tumour samples across the National Health Service. This guidance is intended to support consistent approaches to maintaining DNA quality and support improved consistency and access to precision diagnostics across England. The guidance includes consideration of the handling of fresh tissue samples and sets out approaches designed to support genomic testing, including WGS.

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the fresh-freezing of tissue samples have already been developed across pathology networks in England, including the West Midlands. It is, however, the responsibility of individual pathology services to maintain their own SOPs for the fresh-freezing of tissue samples. These protocols outline local capabilities and practices, including access and storage capacity

Information on the number of NHS neurosurgical centres in England that have facilities for fresh freezing brain cancer tissue samples is not currently collected. However, the extent to which fresh freezing is used across NHS trusts is likely to vary depending on the availability of neurosurgery services.