HC Deb 08 November 1988 vol 140 cc130-1W
70. Dr. Bray

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what advice has been given by the Medical Research Council on the effectiveness and cost of neutron and proton therapy by comparison with conventional x-ray therapy in the treatment of cancer.

76. Mr. Harry Ewing

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what advice the Medical Research Council gave on the use of a cyclotron to be used in the treatment of cancer by neutron and proton therapy.

Mr. Jackson

The Medical Research Council is currently undertaking full-scale clinical trials, using neutrons generated from a cyclotron, of the efficacy of neutron therapy in the treatment of cancers. The council will publish substantive conclusions in the early 1990s when the trials have been completed. The council is planning to begin clinical trials of proton therapy, using protons generated from a cyclotron, in 1989.