A network of health professionals specialising in brain tumours has been recognised for its high standard of excellence.

The Plymouth and the Peninsula Neuro-Oncology Network, which includes University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Trust and Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, is one of 14 new Tessa Jowell Centres of Excellence.

The former Labour MP and culture secretary Dame Tessa died in 2018, a year after she was diagnosed with brain cancer.

During the final months of her life, she dedicated her energy into campaigning for brain tumour treatment funding and research.

The Centre for Excellence in her name was established in 2020. Those awarded the status have to reapply every four years.

The Plymouth and Peninsula network was selected for the steps it is making in research, rehabilitation and commitment to growing its team.

It recognises that it has gaps in palliative care and long-term support for people with low grade cancers.

Associate professor of neurosurgery at University Hospitals Plymouth (UHP) Dr Ellie Edlmann told a UHP NHS Trust board meeting on Wednesday that £40 million of investment is available to Tessa Jowell centres and she wants some of that to come to Plymouth.

Around 500 people are diagnosed with brain cancer across the peninsula every year and it is biggest cancer killer among those under 40.

But life expectancy is improving and Dr Edlmann said more genetic testing would enable the centre to learn more about each diagnosis and improve the eligibility of patients for drug trials.

Genetic testing can identify mutations in cells which certain drugs are targeting and can lead to improve outcomes.

Professor Oliver Hanemann, a neurologist, said Tessa Jowell Centres are changing clinical care for brain cancer patients across the UK.