NHS breast cancer pill can improve outcome by 30pc

Early-stage breast cancer patients will be offered a twice-daily pill on the NHS that can boost their chance of staying disease-free by a third.

Around 4,000 women can now benefit from the drug after it was approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).

Abemaciclib, made by Eli Lilly, is suitable for those with hormone receptor-positive, Her2-negative, nodepositive early breast cancer at high risk of recurrence, who have had surgery.

Results from a clinical trial showed that people having the drug with hormone therapy had 30 per cent more chance of their cancer not coming back following surgery, compared with hormone therapy alone.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, said: “It’s fantastic. Thousands of women with this type of primary breast cancer will now have an additional treatment option available on the NHS to help further reduce the risk of the disease coming back.

The fear of breast cancer returning or spreading to other parts of their body and becoming incurable can cause considerable anxiety for so many women and their loved ones.

“New effective treatments such as abemaciclib, which can offer more women the chance to further reduce the risk of the disease recurring, are extremely welcome and this is an important change in the drug options available for this group of patients.”

Around 50,000 people a year are diagnosed with breast cancer in England. Her2-negative breast cancer is the most common type, accounting for around 70 per cent of all diagnoses.

It is estimated that early breast cancer comes back after initial treatment in around a third of people.

Last year, Nice approved abemaciclib for patients with Her2-negative breast cancer that had spread to other parts of the body. But thousands more people will now be eligible for the treatment.

Taken as a twice-daily pill, the drug targets and attacks proteins in cancer cells that allow them to divide and grow.

The treatment normally costs £2,950 for a packet of 56 150mg tablets, but Eli Lilly has agreed a confidential NHS discount.