Thursday 23 November 2017

Life-saving prostate cancer treatment denied on NHS for a year despite approval by safety watchdogs

Life-saving prostate cancer treatment denied on NHS for a year despite approval by safety watchdogs More than 20,000 men will have to wait at least a year for access to a breakthrough prostate cancer treatment which cuts deaths by almost 40 per cent.

Abiraterone, which doubles the life expectancy of those with the most advanced cancer and “effectively cures” it in less critical patients, was declared safe yesterday by the European Medicines Agency.

However, health chiefs in England will not decide whether to fund it on the NHS until Autumn next year.

The treatment is currently provided to NHS patients where standard hormone therapy has failed.

But a major British trial presented in June found that when used as a first-line treatment alongside hormone therapy its efficacy was vastly improved. The Daily Telegraph

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