Men denied the drug of life-stricken prostate cancer on NHS in England

A Cancer Charity has said that it is “angry and disappointed” that ministers and health officials have not approved the provision of life-fired prostate cancer drug through NHS in England.

The drug, Abiratone, Scotland and Wales have been available for high -risk patients for two years, whose cancer has not yet spread, but not in England and Northern Ireland.

In a letter to the prostate cancer UK viewed by the BBC, Health Minister Karin Smith stated that the decision after a long review by NHS England was “based on overall ability” and that “it would not be appropriate to intervene”.

The government said that immediate advice was requested on this issue.

Charity stated that it was “a strict and immediate position in England”, in which “a bureaucracy interrupted men were denied this treatment”.

A spokesperson for health and social care said: “We understand the disappointment and disturbance of some patients who cannot reach this possible life -saving treatment. The ministers have requested immediate advice on the issue.”

Although there is no cure, Abiratone can help prevent prostate cancer spreading in other parts of the body.

In England and Northern Ireland, the drug is approved only for men with very advanced prostate cancer who have already spread.

In Wales and Scotland, people suffering from the disease who have not spread yet can also get it.

Research has shown that for the patients of these earlier stages, the survival rate is improved after six years and the drug reduced the rate of cancer progression.

Charity says that many people can be extended by medicine, which is looking at the conclusions from a test called Stamped, Published in 2022.

It improved the existence among men due to the drug with normal care, and concluded that Abiraton should be considered a new standard treatment.

According to NHS England data, about 8,400 patients have high -risk prostate cancer every year which have not yet spread.

Using stampede beliefs, 672 of those men can die prematurely without access to abiratones.

In October 2023, BBC News spoke to a retired banker Gills Turner living in Sussex. He was detected prostate cancer earlier that year, but it was reported that Abiraton could not be obtained on NHS in England.

He chose to pay for treatment with the drug at £ 250 in a month. He then told us that he feels “very lucky” that he was able to bear it, but got angry for others who could not.

At that time, NHS England stated that it was reviewing the use of the drug for a wide range of men.

However, in December 2024, it told the prostate cancer UK that “it is not possible to identify the required recurrent headroom in the revenue budget”.

Because abiratone is a common drug that is “away from patents” and licensed to only one group of patients with prostate cancer, there is a complex procedure to approve it for comprehensive use.

Each year, NHS England may take a “discretionary” investment decision with an expert advisory group, but has not chosen for this drug.

Earlier this month, Smith’s letter stated that this process was to see “the overall budget effect of starting a new treatment based on the patient’s versions”, and the minister would not intervene.

Mr. Turner said that he was “shocked” that about one and a half years after the BBC report, NHS England did not hold NHS Scotland and NHS Wales.

He has spent £ 20,000 so far on his treatment, and said that he felt wrong that expensive new patent drugs can be funded, Abiratarone – the cost of NHS £ 77 per pack per month – may not be.