"Value" Decision by NICE Met With Disapproval

The decision not to offer a life-extending drug to prostate cancer sufferers until after they have received chemotherapy is a "kick in the teeth" for patients, a charity has said.

Prostate Cancer UK said the drug could offer men extra time with loved ones and a chance to delay chemotherapy and its debilitating side effects.

The charity said the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's (Nice) decision was unjust.

Scientists have also expressed their disappointment over the health watchdog's guidance not to recommend the drug in this circumstance. Experts from the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) said there was clear evidence abiraterone was beneficial for patients before they underwent chemotherapy.

In final draft guidance, Nice said that the drug should not be widely used in the NHS in England to treat prostate cancer patients whose cancer has spread and who have previously received another type of hormone therapy before they are given chemotherapy.

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Source: The Guardian