Thousands of men miss out on life-extending prostate cancer drug

Experts say thousands of prostate cancer patients in England and Northern Ireland are missing out on a life-extending prostate cancer drug that is more widely available on the NHS in Scotland and Wales.

Charity Prostate Cancer UK said it was “unacceptable” that men in parts of the UK were facing a postcode lottery.

Although the drug abiraterone, is not a cure, it can help stop the cancer spreading to other parts of the body.

NHS England said it would review the use of the drug, which is currently only approved for men in England and Northern Ireland with very advanced prostate cancer which has spread to other parts of the body, for more men next year.

Last year, the Stampede trial showed that abiraterone could benefit a larger group of men with earlier stage tumours that hadn’t yet started to spread.  It works by lowering testosterone production in the body which can fuel some cancer cell growth.

The study showed it could halve the risk of the cancer spreading and significantly reduce the chance of death six years on from diagnosis in the same group.

Prostate Cancer UK believes that at least 5,000 out of 52,000 newly diagnosed patients in England each year could benefit from the hormone therapy if it was offered to more men.

A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care said they understood “the frustration of some patients in England” who cannot access the medicine.

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (jacquelinevance@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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