Breast cancer drug rejected for Scotland
A DRUG proved to shrink breast cancer tumours before women undergo surgery has been rejected for use on the NHS in Scotland.
Last year, a small study in the US showed that lapatinib (Tyverb) shrank tumours by an average of more than 60 per cent before women had surgery.
The Scottish Medicines Consortium has now assessed the drug, in combination with another treatment, capecitabine, for use in patients with advanced cancer or where the disease has spread, but did not recommend it for use by the NHS.
The SMC said: "The manufacturer did not present a sufficiently robust economic analysis to gain acceptance by SMC."
Dr Alexis Willett, policy manager at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: "(We hope] the SMC and the makers of lapatinib will work together to ensure that if further information becomes available a new appraisal is undertaken swiftly."
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