20th February 2012

Prostate cancer patients in Wales to get breakthrough drug

By Madeleine Brindley, WalesOnline Feb 19 2012

MEN with advanced prostate cancer will get access to a new breakthrough treatment in Wales.

The All-Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG) has approved the use of the abiraterone acetate for men with cancer which has spread beyond the prostate and is resistant to conventional hormone treatment (metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer).

The decision, which has been ratified by Health Minister Lesley Griffiths, means the drug, which is also called Zytiga, will be widely available on the NHS in Wales. Patients in England will have to continue to apply to the cancer drugs fund to access it.

Professor John Wagstaff, clinical senior lecturer in oncology at Swansea University, said: “This is a significant step forward for patients in Wales with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer.

“Until recently we have had few treatment options available for these patients, so the availability of this medicine goes a long way towards fulfilling an important unmet need.

“In my experience of using abiraterone acetate in the clinical trials programme, this medicine has both the potential to extend life, and also to improve a patient’s quality of life.

“My unit will now be seeking to use this medicine for appropriate patients as soon as possible.”

And Phil Burr, chair of the West Wales Prostate Cancer Support Group, said: “We are cautiously optimistic the recent decision of the AWMSG will put prostate cancer patients in Wales on a level playing field with their counterparts across the border who already have access to abiraterone via the English cancer fund.”

Abiraterone was developed by scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Royal Marsden in London after the discovery that some prostate cancers can produce their own testosterone.

It works by blocking the production of male hormones in all tissues, not just the testes, including both the adrenal glands and the tumours themselves.

A trial published a year ago showed men survived an average of four months longer and suffered far less pain with abiraterone compared to those taking a placebo. Some men did much better, including two who were still alive after starting the treatment in 2007.

Martin Price, external affairs director of Janssen UK, which makes the drug, said: “We warmly welcome this AWMSG decision, which is good news for men with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer and their families.”

The AWMSG decision comes after the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) published draft guidance earlier this month saying abiraterone was too expensive for use on the NHS in England and Wales.

It is unclear whether men in Wales will continue to have access to the drug in the event Nice’s final guidance also does not recommend NHS funding for abiraterone.

In the absence of any further Nice guidance, AWMSG is due to review its decision in 2015.

A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: “Nice has not yet issued its final guidance. We will consider the evidence when it is published.”