§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has conducted into which cancers are better treated in a specialist cancer centre and for which cancers where it makes no difference.
§ Mr. SackvilleOn the basis of research undertaken by the childhood cancer research group, funded by the Department at the University of Oxford, the survival rates of children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia—the most common form of childhood leukaemia—are found to be higher at centres treating larger numbers of patients.
For acute myeloid leukaemia, survival rates in children treated at specialist teaching hospitals were found to be higher.
For several other types of childhood cancer, survival rates were better when children were treated at specialist paediatric oncology centres.
Whether adult cancer patients are better treated in specialist centres, is one of the principal issues being addressed by the Government's Chief Medical Officer's expert advisory group, which is carrying out an overall examination of cancer services.