EASINGTON MP Grahame Morris has called for improved access to life- saving advanced radiotherapy as part of an overhaul of cancer treatment.

The Health Select Committee member called on the new cancer taskforce, set up to oversee a new five-year cancer strategy, to address concerns about what he called the “significant disparity” between funding for cancer drugs compared to advanced stereotactic ablative radiotherapy, or SABR.

SABR is a more precise type of radiotherapy which delivers high doses of radiation while causing less damage to healthy tissue than conventional radiotherapy.

Mr Morris said: “I support funding for cancer drugs which gives patients access to treatment that would otherwise be denied to them. However, the Government’s focus on the cancer drugs fund cannot allow them to neglect access to advanced radiotherapy treatments”

A new £15 million three-year evaluation programme will increase the number of patients who can be treated by SABR by 750 a year and widen the number of cancers being treated.

But Mr Morris added: “I welcome all new investment into improving access to advanced radiotherapy. However, this must be put into perspective. The £5 million a year investment into trials of advanced radiotherapy is in comparison to a cancer drugs fund which has grown from £200 million in 2010 to £340 million from April 2015.

“We need to improve access to all forms of innovative cancer treatments, and I hope the cancer drugs fund will be transformed into a Cancer Treatments Fund to ensure all cancer patients have access to the treatments they need, whether they need cancer drugs, surgery or advanced radiotherapy.”

Taskforce members will include representatives from the NHS, Government, MacMillan, Public Health England, Health Education England, Royal College of GPs, Royal College of Surgeons, and clinical commissioning groups and local authorities.