Not all women getting best anti-cancer drugs

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Not all women suffering from breast and ovarian cancer in England and Wales are getting the most effective drugs to battle the disease, a leading charity said Monday.

Despite recommendations by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), a government advisory body, that anti-cancer drugs known as taxanes should be provided through the National Health Service (NHS), many women are still not getting them.

"In May and June this year NICE stated that taxanes should be made available to a number of women with advanced breast and ovarian cancer," Judith Brodie, of CancerBACUP, said in a statement.

"However, more than 20 percent of Health Authorities are still unable to confirm that suitable breast cancer patients are being offered the option of treatment with taxanes," she added.

A survey of Health Authorities by the patient support charity showed that many are committed to providing the drugs to patients but nearly 15 percent cannot confirm that the drug paclitaxel, or Taxol, is being offered to ovarian cancer patients.

"Further work is needed to ensure that oncologists are prescribing treatments recommended by NICE. Obviously there is still some way to go to ensure that all women are being offered the treatments which they deserve," said Dr Ian Gibson, the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer.

NICE approved Bristol Myers Squibb's Taxol for ovarian cancer and Franco-German Aventis SA's Taxotere for breast cancer. Both drugs are standard treatments elsewhere in Europe and the United States and have been proven to increase the survival rate of cancer patients.

But they had not been freely available throughout the NHS because of financial concerns. The drugs cost about 1,500 pounds ($2,310) per treatment and each patient may need up to six courses.

According to the survey, 77 percent of Health Authorities have made funds available to provide treatment for breast cancer patients and 86 percent for ovarian cancer treatment.

But only 36 percent of authorities have a written policy for monitoring local compliance with NICE guidance.

Ovarian cancer kills about 5,000 women each year, while more than 14,000 die of breast cancer.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE)
National Health Service (NHS)
CancerBACUP-Cancer information and Support
The Institute of Cancer Research
Taxol
Taxotere

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