Secretary of State for Health Patricia Hewitt has announced that women who are diagnosed from 3 October this year onwards with early stage breast cancer will have the opportunity to be treated with the drug Herceptin. This means that the lives of around 1,000 women a year will be saved – the same number of lives saved by the NHS national breast cancer screening programme for roughly the same cost.
Government fast-tracks new cancer drug
Patricia Hewitt said that all women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer will be tested for suitability for treatment with Herceptin. As soon as the drug receives a licence it will be fast-tracked for use throughout the NHS.
Of the 35,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer each year, about 20,000 will be suitable for HER2 testing. From this group of 20,000 women, about 5,000 women may benefit from Herceptin. The drug could save around 1,000 lives a year, at an annual cost of about £100 million.
Patricia Hewitt said: “I share the huge frustration of many women about the delays in getting Herceptin licensed. I am determined to take action, and this represents a major step forward in our fight against cancer.”
