Drug decision reversal offers hope for cancer sufferers

People with a rare form of cancer which occurs in the muscles, nerves, fat or blood vessels could benefit from a new treatment, it was announced today.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) in Britain has reversed an earlier decision on the drug trabectedin after the manufacturers agreed to a cost-reducing scheme.

Under the plan, the firm PharmaMar will meet the cost of the drug if it is needed beyond a fifth cycle of treatment.

The medicine could extend the lives of people with advanced soft tissue sarcoma by at least three months.

The disease affects the supporting tissues of the body, including deep skin tissue, and causes swelling which can put pressure on tissues or organs nearby.

Cells sometimes migrate from the original tumour to other parts of the body, including the lungs or bones, causing secondary cancers.

Around 2,000 people a year in the UK are diagnosed with the disease and between 500 and 600 people in England and Wales are currently living with it.

Trabectedin will benefit around 110 patients a year who have failed on other treatments, at a cost of more than £3,500 (€3,928.69) a cycle.

The drug, which is given intravenously, works by altering the DNA in cancer cells, which stops them growing and spreading.

Dr Carole Longson, director of the health technology evaluation centre at Nice, said criteria had been applied to specifically look at life-extending, end-of-life treatments.

Final guidance telling the UK National Health Service (NHS) to use the drug will be published next year.

She said: “We are delighted the independent appraisal committee has been able to recommend trabectedin in its draft guidance.

“It has certainly not been an easy decision to make; soft tissue sarcoma is a rare cancer and the evidence was limited.

“However, treatment options for this type of cancer are limited and in the last 20 years there have been no major developments to treat the advanced stages of this disease.

“Being able to recommend trabectedin for use on the NHS represents a step forward in the care of this group of patients who may have very few treatment options left.”

Roger Wilson, director of Sarcoma UK, said: “I am delighted that trabectedin has been approved.

“This is the end of a challenging process for sarcoma patients and the doctors who treat them, as well as for Nice.

“This drug benefits a large proportion of the small number of patients who receive it.”