Fresh NHS drug blow for cancer patients

BREAST cancer patients in Scotland have been denied a lifeextending drug for the second time in less than 18 months.

A controversial medicines watchdog yesterday rejected Perjeta, which shrinks tumours and can save women from having to undergo major surgery. The heart- breaking decision for women with an aggressive form of early-stage breast cancer comes after the same drug was previously turned down for those with terminal cancer.

The ruling was criticised by charities yesterday, although another breast cancer drug, Eribulin, was given a green light by the Scottish Medicines Consortium for use within NHS Scotland.

The watchdog was accused of ‘cruelty’ by charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer after rejecting Perjeta – the brand name of pertuzumab – in November 2014. Yesterday it turned down the same drug, but for women with early HER2-positive breast cancer. It had been estimated almost 450 women in Scotland would benefit from the drug in the first year.

Nivolumab, a skin cancer drug which could have helped more than 100 Scots with advanced melanoma, was also turned down by the SMC in its latest round of decisions. However, treatments for chronic heart failure and prostate cancer were accepted.

Watchdog chairman, Professor Jonathan Fox said of the rejected drugs: ‘Uncertainties in the evidence for both these medicines meant the committee was concerned they may not represent a good use of NHS resources.’