Debate on research and treatment of brain tumours

A debate will be held in the House of Commons Chamber, on Thursday 8 May 2025, on the research and treatment of brain tumours. The subject of this debate was chosen by the Backbench Business Committee and the debate was proposed by Dame Siobhain McDonagh MP (Labour) and Charlie Maynard MP (Liberal Democrat). 

What are brain tumours? 

A brain tumour is a growth of abnormal cells in the brain. There are over 100 types of brain tumour. ‘Primary’ brain tumours begin in the brain, while ‘secondary’ brain tumours are those that began somewhere else in the body and later spread to the brain. 

More than 12,000 people are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour in the UK each year, and about half of these are cancerous. Many more people are diagnosed with a secondary brain tumour.      

Symptoms vary depending on where the tumour is in the brain, its size and grade. Common symptoms include headache, seizures (fits), mental or behavioural changes, weakness or paralysis, and problems with vision and speech.   

Treatment for brain tumours vary depending on the type of tumour, its location, size and type, and the health of the patient. They can include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. 

Brain tumour research 

In April 2023, the charity Brain Tumour Research reported that brain tumour research accounts for just 1% of cancer research spending.  

In 2018, the UK Government announced £40 million of funding for brain tumour research, including £20 million to support the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Research Mission. There has been some concern that most of the government funding allocated to support brain tumour research has not yet been spent. In March 2025, the government reported that £11.3 million had been spent directly on brain tumour research between 2018/19 and 2022/23. In addition, £31.5 million is estimated to have been spent on research infrastructure. 

In February 2023, the All–Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours published a report, Pathway to a cure – breaking down the barriers. The report sets out the findings of the APPG’s inquiry into what it describes as the “lack of progress” in deploying the research funding for brain tumours announced by the government in 2018. These include insufficient funding for early-stage ‘discovery’ research and a lack of access to funding for ‘translational’ research, which aims to put research findings into practice. It recommended that the government should develop a strategic plan for brain tumour research. 

In September 2024, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funding body announced two new calls for research into brain tumours, to be led jointly by the NIHR and the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission. The charity Brain Tumour Research described this announcement as “the next step in a £40 million Government pledge, which was first committed in 2018, to develop new lifesaving and life improving research”. 

The government has previously explained that the NIHR’s ability to translate new scientific discoveries into treatments depends on the earlier stages of the research pipeline. The government said that a lack of new scientific discoveries meant “there is not as much that we can fund, from NIHR’s perspective, to turn things into actual treatments”. 

The Brain Tumour Charity has published a briefing ahead of the debate.

Government activity 

The government has set out information about its action to improve early diagnosis and effective treatment for people with brain tumours in its responses to a series of parliamentary questions.  

To diagnose cancerous brain tumours earlier, the government has said it will reduce diagnostic waiting times and provide more computer tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. It says that the forthcoming National Cancer Plan will be published in 2025 and will include more information about how it will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with brain tumours.