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Prostate cancer drug given initial “no” for nhs

A prostate cancer drug has been provisionally rejected as a first-line treatment on the NHS in England.

Abiraterone Prostate Cancer Drug Molecule

The draft recommendation from the NICE means abiraterone (Zytiga) won’t be made routinely available for men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.

As it stands, the NHS in England can only prescribe abiraterone for these men once standard hormone treatment or chemotherapy has failed.

Results from recent clinical trials have shown that giving abiraterone alongside steroids and hormone therapy as a first-line treatment can reduce the chance of the cancer coming back and improve survival, when compared with hormone therapy alone.

Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK’s Chief Executive, called the decision “disappointing”.

The committee that made the decision concluded that it could not accurately estimate the drug’s cost effectiveness based on the data that was submitted.  

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Image Credit | Science Photo

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