Re: (Nice) says that Velcade, the only licensed drug for people with multiple myeloma who have relapsed, should be given only to those taking part in clinical trials.

J wrote:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/07/26/ncanc26.xml

Cancer drug ban a death sentence, say sufferers
By Celia Hall and Andy Lines
(Filed: 26/07/2006)

A drug that improves and prolongs the lives of thousands of cancer
patients should not be available on the health service, a Government
advisory group unexpectedly recommended. Patients described the decision
yesterday as a death sentence.

The draft recommendation by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence
(Nice) says that Velcade, the only licensed drug for people with multiple
myeloma who have relapsed, should be given only to those taking part in
clinical trials.

[...]

He suspected that the high cost of the breast cancer drug Herceptin,
recently approved by Nice and which would cost "hundreds of millions", had
influenced the decision.

Multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, kills about 3,000 people a year in
England. Velcade was licensed in 2004 and hundreds of patients and their
families have benefited from it. Some patients have had to fight their
primary care trusts to have the drug.

Mr Low said that Velcade stopped cancer cells from regenerating.

"The quality of life improvements can be dramatic," he said. "After a
couple of weeks patients can be feeling almost OK again."

He said it worked for 43 per cent of patients who should be given the
chance. If it was not working, then the treatment should be stopped.

[...]
9 June 2006: Herceptin on NHS for early cancer

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtm<snipped>
Herceptin on NHS for early cancer
By Celia Hall, Medical Editor
(Filed: 09/06/2006)

The breast cancer drug Herceptin is to be made available on the NHS for newly
diagnosed women - at a cost of about £100 million a year.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) will announce
a draft recommendation today that the drug, which can cut the risk of the
cancer recurring by half, should be available to suitable women whose disease
is at an early stage.

Herceptin
Herceptin was licensed for early disease only two weeks ago

Up to 5,000 women will be prescribed the drug when final guidance is given by
Nice, as expected, next month. It is not suitable for those with heart problems
or high blood pressure that is hard to control.

The drug is not licensed for the small proportion of women who have not had
chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

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