Cancer Patients Let Down by Drug Ruling

1.17.30pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 23rd Aug 2006

John Leech, Liberal Democrat MP for Manchester Withington, has hit out at the decision this week by NICE (the National Institute for Clinical Excellence) to block routine NHS use of two drugs which have been proven to be effective against advanced bowel cancer.

Both drugs, Avastin and Erbitux, have improved life expectancy for bowel cancer patients in clinical trials.

NICE have admitted that their decision is based on cost. Andrea Sutcliffe, deputy chief executive of NICE, said the institute's investigations had found that neither drug represented a good use of "scarce NHS resources".

John Leech has written to Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Health, asking for the decision to be reviewed. He has also backed a parliamentary motion calling on the government to fund the drugs.

John Leech MP said:

"It is very worrying that NICE should be basing their decisions on costs rather than on clinical evidence. Patients should be able to receive the best treatments available. The government should stop focusing on meaningless NHS targets and statistics and start putting the money in where it is needed. It is wrong that some patients will get these drugs while other are denied them."

End

Notes to editors:

Avastin, known technically as bevacizumab, works by starving cancerous tumours of blood, thus preventing them from growing in the body. Research has shown it can extend life expectancy by an average of five months.

Erbitux (cetuximab) works by blocking the proliferation of cancer cells, and is usually used after chemotherapy has failed.

In tests, it was found to extend life expectancy by at least four months for 50% of patients, and to shrink tumours by 50% in a quarter.

Avastin costs on average £17,665 per patient, and Erbitux £11,739.

Early Day Motion 1593

CAMPAIGN FOR PARITY OF BOWEL CANCER TREATMENT

07.02.2006 

That this House notes with regret the sad death of Mr Jack Wilson, aged 66 years, of Washington on Sunday from bowel cancer; offers its deepest sympathies to Mr Wilson's family; further notes that Mr Wilson had been refused Cetuximab and may have survived longer had he received this treatment when requested; believes that other lives may be prolonged if the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) becomes more effective in its role of ensuring parity of treatment throughout England; and urges the Government to fund all clinically agreed drug treatments and speed up NICE approvals so that the chance to live longer is not dependent on private means or where a person lives.