Edinburgh MP Scott Arthur's Bill to boost research on rare cancers clears the House of Commons
Edinburgh MP Scott Arthur's Bill to boost research into rare cancers has cleared the House of Commons and will now be considered by the Lords.
MPs gave their backing to the proposed change in the law which would place a duty on the Secretary of State to promote research into rare cancers, increase patient access to clinical trials and explore new ways to incentivise drug companies to trial treatments for rare cancers.
There had been some concern that amendments tabled by Tory backbencher Sir Christopher Chope could scupper the Bill, but he withdrew the amendments after debate.
Dr Arthur, who won Edinburgh South West for Labour at last year's general election, was able to bring forward the Bill after winning a top slot in the ballot for Private Member's Bills. And it now has a strong chance of becoming law. Once it has the approval of the Commons, it is rare for the Lords to amend a Private Member's Bill.
In his speech during the debate on Friday, Dr Arthur said the measures in the Bill would reduce the barriers to research and attract more trials to the UK, ultimately leading to faster and fairer access to lifesaving treatments.
Rare cancers are defined as those that affect less than six in 100,000 people. But Dr Arthur said: "Rare cancers are not really rare, as they account for 47 per cent of all cancer diagnoses in the UK each year. That equates to 180,000 people. If you are one of those 47 per cent, you are more likely to face outdated treatments and you are more likely to die."
And he said: "As things stand, our NHS is ill equipped to deal with these patients. Awareness levels are often low among clinicians, which leads to the scourge of late diagnosis.
"Families and patients are also frustrated by the limited access to cutting-edge trials. For far too long, rare cancer patients have been left behind - as medical science makes significant progress in many other complex fields, we have not seen enough progress in this one.
"The Bill is about justice and creating a more level playing field for those patients and their families."
Dr Arthur thanked the 40 charities which backed the Bill and paid tribute to the many people from across the UK who had shared their cancer stories with him and given him their support, including Edinburgh cancer campaigner Kira Noble - Kira the Machine - who has been fighting her personal battle with the disease for more than a decade.
He said he was proud to be wearing the "Solving Kids’ Cancer" badge, which Kira’s mother Aud gave him when he last met her.
The formal first reading of the Bill in the House of Lords is due on Monday, with it expected to be debated by peers after the summer. Baroness Elliott, a former Labour MP, will take the Bill through its Lords stages.
Unless it is amended, the Bill does not need to return to the Commons and it could be on the statute book by the end of the year or early next year.
Dr Arthur said: “I’m really proud and pleased the Bill has managed to clear the House of Commons. It has been fantastic working with the charities and the Department of Health and Social Care to get this far and I am optimistic about it progressing through the Lords.”