Breakthrough drugs that stall breast cancer given approval

TWO “breakthrough” drugs that stall breast cancer for at least 10 months have been approved by health officials, giving hope to thousands of women in the advanced stages of the disease.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) yesterday approved palbociclib and ribociclib for widespread use in England.

The drugs have been shown to delay the need for chemotherapy for women in whom the disease cannot be cured, giving them valuable extra months.

The two medicines work in a similar way and are a brand new class of cancer treatment, the Institute of Cancer Research, London, said.

It said the development of the drugs was one of the “most important breakthroughs” for women with advanced cancer in the last two decades.

The new agreement from Nice comes after it negotiated price deals. It previously rejected palbociclib because its cost was too high compared to its clinical effectiveness.

In new draft guidance, the organisation said that women with oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer who were diagnosed after the disease had begun to spread will be eligible for palbociclib. Those who meet the criteria and have undergone the menopause, will be eligible for ribociclib.

Palbociclib and ribociclib, taken once daily, are the first of a new type of drug that slows the progression of cancer by inhibiting two proteins called CDK 4 and 6. It is estimated that around 8,000 people in England would be eligible for treatment.