Breast cancer survival hopes boosted by new drug on NHS

Published on Tuesday 13 September 2005 01:34

Key points

• New drug, Arimidex, gets approval from the Scottish Medicines Consortium

• Drug combats breast cancer and is available via the NHS

• Criticism of English equivalent body, which has delayed drug by a year

Key quote

"It is now imperative that health-care professionals across Scotland act immediately and ensure women are given the most effective treatment available. There is now no reason why women who would benefit from this treatment would not receive it." - LORRAINE DALLAS, BREAST CANCER CARE SCOTLAND

Story in full BREAST cancer patients across Scotland are to be offered a groundbreaking treatment that could significantly boost survival rates for women who have had surgery.

The drug, Arimidex, which reduces the chance of the disease returning by 76 per cent, has been approved by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC). It will now become routinely available on the Scottish NHS for post-menopausal women after breast cancer surgery.

The decision was widely welcomed. But there was widespread criticism of SMC's English counterpart, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE), which is not expected to approve the treatment for at least another year.

Arimidex, also known as anastrozole, works by restricting the hormone oestrogen that feeds the growth of tumours. It is taken once daily as an oral tablet over a treatment period of five years.

In trials, the drug was found to be 26 per cent more effective in preventing cancer returning than the "gold standard" treatment, Tamoxifen, that is most commonly used now. The new drug will cost the NHS around 2.51 a day compared to only 7p for Tamoxifen.

Until recently, Arimidex was given only to women at risk of Tamoxifen's side-effects, such as blood clots. Although Arimidex also has side-effects of joint pain and fracture, it is expected to be used more widely for women with a higher risk of the cancer recurring.

Lorraine Dallas, the national co-ordinator at Breast Cancer Care Scotland, welcomed an end to the postcode lottery experienced by breast cancer patients across the country.

She said: "All post-menopausal women with early breast cancer will now have equal access to Arimidex immediately after surgery - significantly reducing the chances of postcode prescribing across Scotland. It is now imperative that health-care professionals across Scotland act immediately and ensure women are given the most effective treatment available. There is now no reason why women who would benefit from this treatment would not receive it."

Breast cancer patient Anne Brown, from Carnoustie in Angus, said: "It's truly great news for all fellow Scots women affected by breast cancer. Getting effective treatment right from the start was an important factor for me. I feel reassured taking Arimidex, knowing that I am receiving a very effective drug when I need it most - during the early stages of my disease, when the cancer is most likely to come back."

Dr Chris Wilson, a consultant surgeon at the Western Infirmary in Glasgow, said the new treatment could prevent some of the 1,000 deaths from breast cancer in Scotland every year.

He said: "Hopefully it will turn into more people surviving breast cancer."

However, NICE is unlikely to make a decision on Arimidex for at least another 15 months, causing outrage at Westminster.

Meanwhile, another drug, Aromasin, which also works by restricting oestrogen but is used after two years on Tamoxifen, was licensed yesterday.

The drug, which also reduces the chance of breast cancer recurring by about 70 per cent, will provide another option for postmenopausal breast cancer patients. At the moment, it is offered by some doctors but awaits approval by the SMC and NICE before it is widely available on the NHS.