A new “life extension” drug has been recommended for use through NHS treat women with breast cancer, in a move, which campaigners hailed as a “major milestone”.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) recommended that the drug, Trodelvy, be given to women who tested negative for breast cancer – a very strong form of the disease for which it is difficult to find a cure.
Baron Delyth Morgan, CEO of Breast Evil Now, says: “Today’s news that Trodelvy has finally been recommended by Nice for use on the NHS in the UK marks an important and highly anticipated milestone for women living with cancer. third-negative breast cancer cannot be cured.”
But Lady Morgan criticized the “unacceptably difficult journey to this point for those affected”, warning Nice only recommended Trodelvy “10 painful months” after the Drugs Administration and licensed health care product for this drug.
She added: “Patients living with incurable secondary breast cancer deserve better. Important lessons need to be learned to avoid something like this happening again, and we will continue to ask for more of those affected by breast cancer.
“Working with the government, NHS England, Nice and pharmaceutical companies to ensure new, clinically effective treatments reach patients as quickly as possible, at affordable prices for the NHS. “
Lady Morgan has called for “urgent confirmation” of when Trodelvy will be routinely made available to patients receiving NHS care in Wales and Northern Ireland.
She added: “After being temporarily denied in April, this landmark decision will offer a new, effective treatment for these women, and importantly, give them hope. hope to have more priceless days to live and do what is most important to them and their loved ones. “
Breast Cancer Now and their “passionate patient advocates and campaigners are key people” in helping secure the decision, she added.
Nicola, of Bristol, was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in July 2018 and then diagnosed with secondary negative breast cancer in April 2020. Man 42 This age has been taking Trodelvy since November 2021.
“Living with secondary triple negative breast cancer is like walking every day, and treatment options are limited,” she says.
“That is why it is such a big relief that all eligible women will now be able to access Trodelvy with ease and have the opportunity to benefit from it.
“Not knowing if it will be made available to those in need, it is difficult. I have had Trodelvy treatment since November 2021 and the scans show that my tumors are shrinking.”
Nicola said the drug gave her hope. “That’s why I’ve been campaigning with Cancer Now to make sure Trodelvy is made available on the NHS and that other women also have the opportunity to benefit from it and have more precious time with their loved ones.” them,” she added.
Around 55,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK each year, with around one in five being negative. Younger women and black women are more likely to develop the more aggressive form of breast cancer.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK and it kills around 11,500 women every year.
Professor Christopher Twelf, emeritus consultant in oncology at Leeds Teaching Hospital, said: “Treating women with triple-negative breast cancer is a well-known and once challenging challenge. If the cancer has spread, there will be few treatment options that have a meaningful impact on survival.
“Today’s decision changes that. We now have the option of using a powerful, targeted therapy that has clearly shown the potential to increase survival compared with standard chemotherapy. It’s not a cure, but for many women with negative breast cancer, it provides a hugely important number of months alongside their loved ones. “
One in seven women in the UK develops breast cancer at some point in their lives – a woman is diagnosed every 10 minutes.
A study last week found that having a baby after breast cancer did not adversely affect a woman’s outlook for survival.
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