§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent by the NHS on(a) cancer research and (b) cancer treatment in each of the last three years. [67801]
§ Ms BlearsTotal Department and National Health Service expenditure in England for cancer research was £77.4 million in 1999–2000 and £83.8 million in 2000–01. Figures for 2001–02 are not yet available.
The Department does not collect figures on the cost of NHS services in a way that enables an accurate figure to be calculated for the cost of a particular disease.
§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of Datamonitor's recently published research on five year cancer survival rates. [68279]
§ Ms BlearsThe Datamonitor survey was based on survival rates for cancer patients diagnosed over a decade ago. These figures showed that survival rates in this country were lower than for comparable European countries. That is why, in September 2000, we published the NHS Cancer Plan which sets out a programme of action to improve cancer prevention, detection, treatment and research which are intended to bring our survival rates in line with the rest of Europe.
§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what epidemiology studies his Department have carried out to investigate the causes of cancer clusters. [67136]
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§ Ms BlearsThe Department has funded a number of epidemiology studies on specific cancer clusters. The following studies were commissioned from the Small Area Health Statistics Unit at Imperial College and all are published in the scientific literature:
Incidence of cancer of the larynx and lung near incinerators of waste solvents and oils in Great Britain. (Elliott et al., Lancet (1992): Volume 339, pp. 854–858.)
Cancer incidence and mortality near the Baglan Bay petrochemical works, South Wales. (Sans et al., Occupational and Environmental Medicine (1995): Volume 52, pp. 217–224.)
Lympho-haematopoetic malignancy around all industrial complexes that include major oil refineries in Great Britain. (Wilkinson et al., Occupational and Environmental Medicine (1999): Volume 56, pp. 577–590.)
Cancer incidence near radio and television transmitters in Great Britain. I. Sutton Coldfield Transmitter and 2. All high power transmitters. (Dolk et al., American Journal of Epidemiology (1997): Volume 145, pp. 1–9 and 10–17.)
Cancer incidence and mortality around the Pan Britannica Industries pesticide factory. Waltham Abbey. (Wilkinson et al., Occupational and Environmental Medicine (1997): Volume 54. pp. 101–107.)
The Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) recommended (COMARE Third Report) an investigation of the geographical distribution of childhood cancer and leukaemia in Great Britain and how the pattern of cases around nuclear installations compares with the national pattern. A study has been commissioned by the Department of Health Radiological Protection Research Programme (RPRP) and is a multicentre study co-ordinated by the childhood cancer research group in Oxford. This study is nearing completion and the Department has asked COMARE to advise on which, if any, nuclear installations in Great Britain have incidences of childhood cancer and leukaemia in their vicinity which are statistically outside the distribution seen nationally. COMARE is hoping to report on this aspect of the study to the Department in 2003. The study is investigating, among other topics, clustering as a feature of childhood cancer. This will be broken down as leukaemia and other childhood cancers and other groupings considered relevant. The study will also relate leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma around nuclear installations to the Great Britain clustering analysis.
When complete, the database will also allow investigation of other environmental factors and their potential relevance to the temporal and spatial distribution of childhood cancer.
The RPRP is also funding a study into the possible association between childhood cancer, electromagnetic fields (emf) and powerlines. The Department also contributes to the Electromagnetic Field project, which is examining possible associations between emf and general disease patterns (including cancer).