Devastated patients to be denied cancer drug on NHS

MICHAEL Egan has spent more than a year battling kidney cancer. His doctor wants to prescribe a drug which may hold the only hope of extending his life.

But yesterday, Mr Egan and other patients in his position were devastated by a decision which means that they are unlikely to receive the treatment on the NHS in Scotland.
Campaigners said the move handed a "death sentence" to hundreds of Scottish kidney cancer patients.

Mr Egan's family must now consider how to continue their battle for the drug Sutent, which costs around £23,000 per patient.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) rejected the drug for use on the NHS as a first-line treatment for kidney cancer on the grounds of its cost.

Mr Egan, 63, from Annan, Dumfriesshire, said he could not understand their decision.

Speaking from his hospital bed, he said: "I think it is terrible. They have said it costs too much, which I think is not acceptable.

"The doctor told me it is 65 per cent effective, but he has not got the power to let me have it.

"I don't know what we will do now."

Sutent works by stopping the signals in the body which tell cancer cells to grow and multiply. The drug also stops blood vessels growing into the tumour. Doctors report that Sutent, while not a cure, can prolong life by up to two years.

Mr Egan's son, Matt, a public health researcher, said he was "devastated and angry" at the decision.

He added: "There is a clear case that this drug is the only one that is really effective for dad's cancer and other people with the same type of cancer.

"This drug is effective and it improves quality of life. It seems to me that the price of [the] drug is judged to be valued more than the life of my dad."

Earlier this year, the SMC refused to recommend Sutent as a secondary treatment for patients who have not responded to other drugs.

Its latest rejection as a first-line treatment comes despite the fact that manufacturer Pfizer has cut the price of the drug by 5 per cent and will provide the first cycle of treatment for free, cutting the cost per patient by £4,000.

Matt Egan said the family doctor had applied for funding for the drug, despite the SMC decision, but it had been rejected. He said the family was now considering what to do next, including paying for the drug themselves.

He added: "The problem is it costs so much money. We would have to organise charity events to try to raise the funds."

James Whale, the radio presenter and founder of the James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer, said: "The SMC has effectively issued a death sentence to the 660 patients living with kidney cancer in Scotland.

"Despite overwhelming evidence supporting Sutent, doctors will be forced to say 'no' to patients who need access to this life-saving treatment."

Dr Duncan McLaren, a consultant oncologist at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, said he hoped to work with the SMC to find a way to fund the drug as quickly as possible.

He added: "For over 20 years, we have had to work with drugs that, at the most, would provide a three-month improvement [in survival]. Sutent offers a chance to dramatically improve response rates, demonstrating either tumour shrinkage or disease stabilisation."

A spokesman for the SMC said the council was "truly disappointed" that it was not able to recommend Sutent.

He added: "After analysing the manufacturer's submission, we feel there are significant uncertainties in evidence and calculations, leading us to conclude Sutent's high cost in relation to its benefits has not been justified."
PATCH NEWS WELCOMED

A SKIN patch which delivers a drug to treat Parkinson's disease was yesterday recommended for use on the NHS in Scotland.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) said the Neupro patch could save the NHS £77,000 in its first year of use, rising to almost £500,000 after five years.

An SMC spokesman said they were "delighted" to be able to recommend the drug.

Andrew Sim, from the Parkinson's Disease Society, welcomed moves to give the patch to people in the early stages of Parkinson's.

"The SMC is currently considering whether to allow the patch for the treatment of later-stage Parkinson's and we look forward to hearing the results shortly," he said.

The SMC has rejected Zibor for the treatment of deep vein thrombosis and Zevalin for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

source : news.scotsman.com