Chamber and committees

Scottish Government recognises that diagnosing brain cancer can be challenging as symptoms are wide-ranging and often vague.

Through our Cancer strategy 2023 to 2033 - gov.scot and initial three year Cancer action plan 2023 to 2026 - gov.scot published in June 2023, a new Earlier Cancer Diagnosis Vision was developed. This vision aims to reduce later stage disease by 18 percentage points in 10 years’ time, with a focus on reducing the health inequalities gap, including for those with brain tumours.

Actions and resources to aid this vision include the Get Checked Early and NHS Inform websites, which highlight the possible symptoms of brain tumours, encouraging individuals to contact their General Practice for early detection and referrals.

In August 2025, Scottish Government published the updated Scottish Referral Guidelines for Urgent Suspicion of Cancer. These guidelines support primary care clinicians to identify those with symptoms suspicious of cancer and identify those who require urgent assessment by a specialist and for the first time, the guideline includes an update to the guidance for urgent referral for suspected brain tumours

Other resources to support primary care also include:

• Gateway C, a new primary care cancer education platform launched in April 2024. Gateway C provides tailored information to support earlier cancer diagnosis and enable effective decision-making. This platform is accessible to all primary care clinicians and includes a brain tumour course specifically aimed at assisting the effective assessment and management of patients with a potential brain tumour.
• A new National Headache Pathway published by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery. This pathway, based on presentation at General Practice, clearly lists red flag symptoms that indicate the need for urgent and/or emergency assessment to exclude a secondary cause, such as a brain tumour.