Bone cancer drug move hailed

A decision by the Government's health watchdog to give a life-extending drug to bone cancer sufferers has been welcomed.The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) reversed a previous decision and is recommending that Velcade (also known as bortezomib) be available to multiple myeloma sufferers in England and Wales who respond well to it.Nearly 4,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with this form of cancer each year and there are 20,000 sufferers in the UK at any one time. The life expectancy of a newly-diagnosed myeloma patient is three to five years.Six months ago, Nice rejected Velcade on grounds of cost, rather than effectiveness, but cancer charities Myeloma UK, Cancerbackup and Leukaemia CARE appealed the "perverse and unfair" decision.Nice is now recommending that "all suitable patients" have access to the treatment, with the NHS continuing to fund the drug for those who show a full or partial response.Under the unique scheme, the drug's manufacturer Janssen-Cilag will refund the NHS when the treatment does not work.Meanwhile, a study has shown that cancer drug Herceptin could reduce the number of mastectomies if used alongside chemotherapy before women undergo surgery.Women who have the particularly aggressive HER2-positive form of breast cancer and are treated in this way are more likely to see tumours shrink substantially, meaning surgery that would conserve the breast can be carried out.Professor Alex Markham, Cancer Research UK's senior medical advisor, said: "Herceptin is currently used to treat advanced breast cancer, but this study has looked at using the drug in patients with a form of early disease."The preliminary results are exciting and raise the possibility of being able to use breast conserving surgery for a greater number of women with HER2-positive breast cancer."© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

ITN | June 4, 2007