- Patients in England and NI are only eligible for the drug once the cancer has spread
More than 5,000 men a year with prostate cancer are being denied a life-saving drug by the NHS due to a scandalous British postcode lottery, a charity has warned.
Research has shown that abiraterone can stop the spread of prostate cancer and extend the lives of people with the disease.
Patients in Scotland and Wales can get the drug for free from the NHS if there is a high risk of the cancer spreading, but men in England or Northern Ireland are only eligible if the cancer has spread.
Until then, they must pay around £250 a month for a private prescription, or go without – putting them at greater risk of death.
A clinical trial found that men who received abiraterone for two years were half as likely to die from prostate cancer within six years (stock image)
A spokesperson for Prostate Cancer UK called for the drug to be made available nationwide. Prostate cancer is most common in men, with 52,000 diagnoses in the UK every year.
A clinical trial found that men who received abiraterone for two years were half as likely to die from prostate cancer within six years, compared to men who received current standard treatments. It also reduced the risk of spreading the disease – or dying – by 47 percent.
The postcode lottery was started because the patent on abiraterone expired in October 2022, meaning it is now available for a fraction of the price.
A mechanism exists in Scotland and Wales to quickly review and introduce such treatments, Prostate Cancer UK revealed – but no such system exists in England and Northern Ireland.
The Mail has been campaigning for decades for better forecasts and treatments to bring the disease on par with breast cancer.
Amy Rylance, from Prostate Cancer UK, said: ‘It is unacceptable that men in parts of Britain are missing out on this low-cost treatment option that we know saves and extends lives.’
Professor Nick James, from the Institute of Cancer Research, where the drug was developed, said: ‘It is very frustrating because this treatment is standard in most of mainland Europe and the US.’