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21/08/2006
Ruling on bowel cancer drug attacked
A ruling that will refuse treatment on the NHS with two bowel cancer drugs has been attacked by both cancer patients and charities.
The government health treatment watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, has determined that Avastin and Erbitux are not recommended for the treatment of patients with metastatic bowel cancer.
However, Nice recommended that people being treated with the drugs should "have the option to continue therapy until they or their consultants consider it appropriate to stop." More prevalent in older people, bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK, and accounts for 12-14% of cancers.
The overall survival rate is around five years, and charities claim that research has shown that the drugs help to extend life by up to five months.
Charities branded the decision by Nice as further evidence that those living with bowel cancer were not being given the attention or funding that they deserved.
Used after front line treatments such as chemotherapy have failed, both treatments are relatively costly. Avastin costing around £18,000 and Erbitux almost £12,000 per patient.
Nice said that neither represented efficient use of scarce NHS resources.
Nice claims that there was insufficient evidence to recommend the treatments for patients whose cancer had spread to other parts of the body.
Both monoclonal antibody treatments, Avastin, also known as bevacizumab, helps by reducing the blood supply to cancerous tumours and reducing their growth and Erbitux, known as cetuximab, helps to block the spread of cancer cells.
(SP)
The government health treatment watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, has determined that Avastin and Erbitux are not recommended for the treatment of patients with metastatic bowel cancer.
However, Nice recommended that people being treated with the drugs should "have the option to continue therapy until they or their consultants consider it appropriate to stop." More prevalent in older people, bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK, and accounts for 12-14% of cancers.
The overall survival rate is around five years, and charities claim that research has shown that the drugs help to extend life by up to five months.
Charities branded the decision by Nice as further evidence that those living with bowel cancer were not being given the attention or funding that they deserved.
Used after front line treatments such as chemotherapy have failed, both treatments are relatively costly. Avastin costing around £18,000 and Erbitux almost £12,000 per patient.
Nice said that neither represented efficient use of scarce NHS resources.
Nice claims that there was insufficient evidence to recommend the treatments for patients whose cancer had spread to other parts of the body.
Both monoclonal antibody treatments, Avastin, also known as bevacizumab, helps by reducing the blood supply to cancerous tumours and reducing their growth and Erbitux, known as cetuximab, helps to block the spread of cancer cells.
(SP)
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