More than a thousand women with advanced breast cancer are expected to get ‘more time with their loved ones’ after a new treatment was given the green light by the NHS.
The once-daily tablet, elacestrant, will be prescribed to women with a gene mutation that makes traditional hormone-based treatments less effective.
The rollout should benefit around 1,100 women and comes less than two months after Nice initially rejected the drug in October.
Campaigners welcomed the turnaround but remain ‘deeply concerned’ that many women with secondary illnesses are not getting the help they deserve under the new criteria.
Earlier this year, another drug, Enhurtu, was refused because of its cost, despite being available in many parts of Europe, including Scotland, as well as the US, Australia and Japan.
Claire Rowney, chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, said: ‘Today’s news is extremely welcome, but we remain deeply concerned that the system is failing to get all secondary breast cancer medicines to the people who so desperately need them.
“We remain tireless in our efforts to ensure that everyone with secondary breast cancer has access to the essential treatments they so desperately need and deserve.”
About eight in 10 breast cancer cases are hormone receptor positive (HR+), meaning the breast cancer grows in response to hormones such as estrogen.
The once-daily tablet, elacestrant, will be prescribed to women with a gene mutation that makes traditional hormone-based treatments less effective (file image)
Its rollout should benefit around 1,100 women and comes less than two months after the drug was rejected in October (file image)
These cancers are usually treated with hormone-based therapy, also called endocrine therapy.
However, up to half of patients will acquire mutations in the ESR1 gene that can make conventional hormone therapy less effective than in patients without the mutation.
This stimulates the growth of the cancer even in the absence of estrogen.
In people with this genetic mutation, elacestrant works by breaking down the estrogen receptors on tumor cells, which can help limit the cancer’s ability to grow and divide.
Helen Knight, director of drug evaluation in Nice, said the decision was made based on evidence from doctors and patients.
She said: ‘The committee understood that patients with advanced breast cancer prioritize treatments that extend life, support quality of life and delay the need for chemotherapy, while being safe and tolerable.
‘Elacestrant is a promising new treatment with the potential to address these priorities.’
Created by Menarini Stemline, genetic testing for the ESR1 mutation is required to determine eligibility.
It is recommended for patients whose cancer has worsened after at least a year of treatment with hormone therapy and CDK4/6 inhibitor, a drug that targets certain proteins on cancer cells to disrupt their growth.