Drug hope for cancer patients

Taxol: Huge worldwide earner

Anti-cancer drugs are to be made available to thousands of women under new guidelines being issued to the NHS in England and Wales, as predicted by BBC News Online last month.

Two drugs are involved: Taxol is mainly used to treat women for ovarian cancer and Taxotere is used in the fight against breast cancer.

In both cases there is evidence they can slow down the spread of cancer and extend patients' lives.

Taxotere can almost double the length of remission for women with recurrent breast cancer.

Until now, it has been a matter of chance whether patients have received them because some health authorities have ruled they are too expensive.

These anomalies within the NHS have become known as the "postcode lottery".

The makers of Taxotere, Aventis, say four out of five women who should have been prescribed it were not, largely because of cost.

Billion-dollar business

But the BBC has learned that the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has told health authorities not to restrict the drugs on grounds of cost.

We are absolutely thrilled that the UK is moving to catch up with the rest of the world in the treatment of cancer

Jean Mossman, cancer campaigner

Campaigners have welcomed the news. Jean Mossman, from Cancerbacup, said: "Women are going to be able to have the best treatment for ovarian and breast cancer.

"For too long women with ovarian cancer have been denied this treatment and we are absolutely thrilled that the UK is moving to catch up with the rest of the world in the treatment of cancer."

Professor Gordon McVie, director general of the Cancer Research Campaign, said health authorities had used a "whole host" of excuses for not prescribing the drugs, and as a result thousands of women had been denied potentially effective treatment.

He said: "These are not new drugs. When I tell my friends in the US that we are very excited that we are going to get Taxol maybe in May they look at me as though I have just crept out from under a timewarp stone."

They told me that there were two drugs I could try, one they were confident would work, the other they were less confident. But they said they could not afford the better one

Leslie Martin, cancer patient

The news was also welcomed by patients. One former cancer sufferer, Leslie Martin, 50, said she was denied Taxotere by Avon Health Authority on cost grounds but neighbouring Somerset would have paid.

"They told me that there were two drugs I could try, one they were confident would work, the other they were less confident. But they said they could not afford the better one.

"I could not believe that somebody could sit down and make that sort of decision for me."

Taxol is Bristol-Myers Squibb's second-biggest-selling drug, earning the company $1.5bn worldwide.

The drug, also known as paclitaxel, was launched in 1993. It is indicated for treatment of ovarian cancer, breast cancer, a form of lung cancer and Kaposi's sarcoma.

It is a poor reflection upon our cancer services that we are so excited by this news

Delyth Morgan, Breakthrough Breast Cancer

Last week a federal judge in the United States removed Bristol-Myers Squibb's patents on Taxol, in favour of generic drug makers who want to produce their own cheaper versions of the drug. The ruling will affect only the US.

But the BBC understands the NICE has declined to recommend Taxol's use for tackling advanced breast cancer, saying there is a need for more research on the subject.

Bristol-Myers Squibb has until the end of next week to appeal.

The NICE issued a statement saying it would not commment until guidance had been issued to the public.

Delyth Morgan, chief executive of the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: "Women deserve the best possible treatment. However, it is a poor reflection upon our cancer services that we are so excited by this news.

"Taxanes are extremely toxic drugs with significant side-effects. We need more research into the development of new, less harsh drug treatments."

The decision was to be welcomed, though the drug was not licensed for use in all cases of breast cancer.

A spokeswoman for the NHS Confederation, which represents health authorities, said: "Health authorities have been aware of the timetable for Nice's recommendations and will have budgeted for the expected extra costs.

"These are rumours at present but if Nice recommended these drugs were made available health authorities would be able to fulfil the recommendations."