Ovarian drug on the NHS

A DRUG that halts the spread of ovarian cancer is available to NHS patients in what charities hailed as a ‘major breakthrough’.

Drug-rationing chiefs last night announced daily pill niraparib could be prescribed to women with incurable ovarian cancer.

The treatment freezes tumours for months, halting relapse and giving a crucial break from chemotherapy.

Ovarian cancer affects 7, 00 women a year, killing

,100. Survival rates are low as symptoms such as bloating can be attributed to other illnesses.

It is not yet known whether niraparib will extend the lives of patients but it is thought it will benefit about 850 patients a year. Rebecca Rennison, of charity Target Ovarian Cancer, said it was a ‘game-changer’.

Niraparib is a PARP inhibitor, exploiting a weakness in cancer cells to kill a tumour without harming healthy cells. It will be sold as Zejula and costs £80 a pill – up to £86,786 a year – but the NHS has an undisclosed discount.