Dear Sir,
March is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. In a few weeks
time NICE will meet to discuss the responses to their draft
decision not to recommend abiraterone, a life extending drug for
men with incurable prostate cancer.
This British discovery is one of the biggest breakthroughs in the
treatment of men with advanced prostate cancer for years and it
will be a very bitter disappointment if abiraterone remains off
limits to those men who need it most.
Historically, prostate cancer has suffered from a legacy of
neglect and in recent years very little progress has been made in
the treatment of the advanced stages of the disease. New
treatments, like abiraterone, are critical in helping to turn this
situation around - but they have to make it to the men who need
them.
Undoubtedly, in this time of austerity NICE has some hard
decisions to make. However, if they fail to recommend
abiraterone, men across England and Wales will face a postcode
lottery when they try to access this important
treatment.
We hope that NICE, and the drug's manufacturer, lead the way
forward in the UK by putting the patient first and agreeing a fair
price and value for abiraterone. We also believe NICE should
class abiraterone as an end-of-life drugso it is fairly assessed
under the same criteria as end-of-life drugs for other cancers.
Only by overturning this questionable decision can we ensure men
with advanced prostate cancer have fair access to effective, life
prolonging treatment.
Yours sincerely
|
Owen Sharp
Chief Executive
The Prostate Cancer Charity |
Professor David Neal
Professor of Surgical Oncology,
Hon Consultant Urological Surgeon
University of Cambridge |
|
Harpal Kumar
Chief Executive
Cancer Research UK
|
Professor Nicholas James
Professor of Clinical Oncology
Co-Director Research and Development (Cancer)
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS
FT
|
|
Ciarán Devane
Chief Executive
Macmillan Cancer Support |
Lucinda Poulton
President
BAUN |
|
Professor Jonathan Waxman
Professor of Oncology
Hammersmith Hospital
|
Alison Lowndes
Chair of the Section of Oncology
BAUN
|
|
Emma Malcolm
Chief Executive
Prostate Action |
Sandy Tindale-Biscoe
Hon Chairman
Prostate Cancer Support Federation |
|
Peter Baker
Chief Executive
Men's Health Forum
|