Part of 3. 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport – in the Senedd at 3:05 pm on 19 July 2017.
Cabinet Secretary, the cross-party group on asbestos received a presentation at its meeting in May on immunotherapy as a potential treatment in mesothelioma, including the SKOPOS trial at Velindre, looking at how a vaccine called TroVax may work alongside chemotherapy for those who suffer from pleural mesothelioma. Funding for this research runs out in August of this year and there’s concern that the immunotherapy research being carried out in Leicester university, which is heavily dependent on the trial work carried out by the Cardiff research group, could be compromised. Do you agree with me, Cabinet Secretary, this is pioneering work being carried out in Velindre, and is key to identifying new ways of treating mesothelioma? And can you assure me that you’ll look at what funding can be provided to ensure that this work can continue beyond August?