Brain Cancer: Mortality Rates

Improving outcomes and survival rates remains a firm priority for the Government across all cancer types. Whilst we have made good progress for many cancer types, survival rates for some cancers are unacceptably low. We are determined to change this.

Research is vital in improving survival rates, which is why the Department invests over £1.8 billion each year on research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Cancer is a major area of NIHR spending at £141.6 million in 2024/25, reflecting its high priority.

We are committed to furthering our investment in brain cancer research and have already taken steps to stimulate scientific progress and build scientific capacity to do research on brain cancer.

For example, in January 2026, the NIHR announced increased investment of over £25 million in the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium. The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children and their families who are living with brain tumours, ultimately reducing lives lost to cancer.

The Government will implement the Rare Cancers Act 2026 that will make it easier to recruit rare cancer patients to clinical trials by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers. This will ensure that the National Health Service will remain at the forefront of medical innovation and is able to provide patients with the newest, most effective treatment options, and ultimately boost survival rates.

Reducing the number of lives lost to cancer is a key aim of the National Cancer Plan for England, published in February this year. The plan sets out a step‑change in ambition for cancer survival. By 2035, we will ensure that three in every four people diagnosed with cancer are either cancer‑free or living well five years after diagnosis. That improvement means approximately 320,000 more lives will be saved over the course of this plan.