Breast cancer drug twice as good as chemotherapy ‘could be denied on NHS’
A BREAST cancer drug that could be twice as good as chemotherapy could be rejected for use on the NHS.
Six in 10 women with incurable cancer saw their tumours shrink after being given trastuzumab deruxtecan.
For women receiving standard chemo, only three out of ten experienced the same outcome.
The drug, known as Enhertu, held the disease at bay for an average of 13 months, compared to eight months.
The results suggest the drug could benefit around 1,000 British women with a specific type of advanced breast cancer.
All the women in the trial had a form of cancer called HR-positive, Her2-low that had spread and not responded to hormone therapy.
But there are doubts about whether England’s watchdog will approve it on value for money grounds.
Question mark over NHS approval
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) this year refused to fund the drug for women with incurable end-stage tumours despite evidence it could add months to their lives.
More than a quarter of a million people, including Loose Women panellists Linda Nolan and Nadia Sawalha, are campaigning for the decision to be overturned.
A pharmaceutical source said: “There is a big question mark over whether this would be approved for the NHS.
“If they won’t give it to people at the end of the line they may not for those who would need to take it for longer.”
A spokesperson for AstraZeneca, which developed the drug alongside Daiichi Sankyo, added: “Conversations with regulatory authorities are ongoing.”
The trial, presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology conference, tested Enhertu on nearly 900 patients.
It reduced the risk of disease spread or death during the 18-month trial by 37 per cent compared to chemotherapy.
Thousands of people with breast cancer are being denied this drug
Dr Simon Vincent
The drug works by latching onto the Her2 protein found on breast cancer cells and pumping antibodies into the cells to damage their DNA and kill them.
Dr Simon Vincent, director of research at Breast Cancer Now, said: “This promising study suggests even more people could potentially benefit from Enhertu.
“It would offer patients with secondary breast cancer more time to live without their cancer spreading further.
“But despite mounting clinical data, thousands of people with HER2-low secondary breast cancer are being denied access to Enhertu on the NHS in England.
“This is unacceptable and these people are desperately counting on Nice, NHS England, Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca to find a solution.”
A spokesperson for Nice said: “We are extremely disappointed not to be able to recommend Enhertu for use in the NHS for advanced HER2-low breast cancer.
“A price making it a cost-effective use of NHS resources being offered by Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca could resolve this issue almost immediately.
“Both Nice and NHS England have been clear throughout the process that we remain open to further discussions.”
We won't give up, says Loose Women's Nadia
LOOSE Women panellist Nadia Sawalha took the campaign for Enhertu to Parliament in March to help her friend, Hannah Gardner, who is living with incurable breast cancer at the age of just 37.
Nadia told Sun Health: “While Nice is still thinking, cancer cells are multiplying and women are dying.”
Hannah, a former clinical trial manager from Twickenham, London, has been told by her oncologist that the drug is now her best remaining option.
She was given her primary breast cancer diagnosis in 2013, aged 26, after discovering a large lump in her left breast.
After undergoing treatment, including chemotherapy and a double mastectomy, the cancer returned twice more — once in 2017 in her chest wall and again in 2020 in her underarm.
In June 2022, Hannah was given the news that she had stage 4 incurable breast cancer.
She said: “The thought of leaving my daughter keeps me awake at night.
“It also keeps me going with this campaign because she is not being robbed of her mummy for a second longer than she needs to.
“People at my stage can live two to four years and I’ve been three so far. This could give me those important extra months.”