Question reference: S6W-17923
- Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 12 May 2023
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Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 May 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to improve access to clinical trials for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Answer
The NHS Research Scotland (NRS) Cancer Network is funded by the Scottish Government to increase, support and sustain clinical trial activity in cancer care within NHS Scotland. The fundamental aim of NRS Cancer is to support the recruitment of cancer patients into clinical research and to thereby contribute to improving the quality of cancer care for patients across Scotland, including those diagnosed with ovarian cancer. https://nhsresearchscotland.org.uk/research-areas/cancer
The Scottish Government also works with Cancer Research UK to support the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMC's) in Glasgow and Scotland. These are part of a UK-wide ECMC Network of 18 adult centres and 11 paediatric locations https://www.ecmcnetwork.org.uk/ Glasgow’s Adult ECMC and Paediatric ECMC, together with Edinburgh’s Adult ECMC receive around £1 million annually to help doctors and scientists develop the cancer treatments of the future for both adults and children, including in ovarian cancer. The funding is split 50:50 Scottish Government / Cancer Research UK
On 13 February 2023 we published an Independent Report on Improving Equity of Access to Cancer Clinical Trials. We will be working closely with the cancer research community here to prioritise the report’s recommendations.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/improving-equity-access-cancer-clinical-trials-scotland/