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<p>Achieving earlier diagnosis of cancer is key to our ambition to save an additional
5,000 lives per year by 2014-15. We are investing £450 million to achieve early diagnosis
of cancer through better public awareness, better screening and better access to key
diagnostic tests.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The National Institute for Health
and Care Excellence (NICE) Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer (2005) are available
to help general practitioners (GPs) assess when it is appropriate to refer patients
for suspected cancer, including prostate cancer. NICE is in the process of updating
the guidelines to ensure that these reflect latest evidence and can continue to support
GPs to identify patients with suspected cancer symptoms and urgently refer them as
appropriate. NICE’s anticipated publication date for the revised guidelines is May
2015.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>At a local level, it is for individual clinical
commissioning groups to promote and enhance the diagnostic capability to deliver better
outcomes. Surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments that may be used for prostate
cancer are commissioned at the moment by NHS England. NHS England’s prostate cancer
service specification clearly defines what it expects to be in place for providers
to offer evidence-based, safe and effective prostate cancer services. This service
specification has been developed by specialised clinicians, commissioners, expert
patients and public health representatives to describe core and developmental service
standards.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>NICE published an updated clinical guideline
on the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer in January 2014. NICE has recommended
docetaxel, abiraterone and enzalutamide as treatment options for some types of prostate
cancer, subject to certain clinical criteria and is currently appraising a number
of other prostate cancer drugs. Patients have the right to drugs and treatments that
have been recommended by NICE technology appraisal guidance for use in the National
Health Service, where their doctor believes they are clinically appropriate. A number
of drugs to treat prostate cancer are available through the Cancer Drugs Fund.</p><p>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>This Government is also investing in innovative radiotherapy
treatments to improve outcomes for those with cancer. NHS England has also committed
to make up to £6 million available over the next three years to support six trials
by Cancer Research UK into the use of Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy (SABR).
This will allow patients to receive SABR treatment now, where clinicians think they
could benefit. At the same time doctors can fully assess the effectiveness of these
treatments so that in future, if it proves to be effective, they will be available
for all relevant patients on the NHS. Two of these six trials will be on prostate
cancer.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have also invested £23 million across 50
United Kingdom centres aimed at increasing the capacity of radiotherapy centres in
England to deliver Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT). We committed to achieving
the ambition of 24% of all radiotherapy to be delivered through more accurate IMRT,
and we are now seeing 35% of all radical radiotherapy treatments delivered using this
method compared to 5% in 2010.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The National Prostate
Cancer Audit (NPCA) began collecting data in April 2014 and is due to publish the
first of four annual reports during November 2014. The NPCA is the first national
clinical audit of the care that men receive following a diagnosis of prostate cancer.
It is designed to collect information about the diagnosis, management and treatment
of every patient newly diagnosed with prostate cancer in England and Wales, and their
outcomes. The findings from the audit will contribute to changes in clinical practice
ensuring that patients receive the best care possible and experience an improved quality
of life. The audit is funded by the Department and has been commissioned by the Healthcare
Quality Improvement Partnership.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
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