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 08 September 2008 06:08 BST

New hope for prostate cancer sufferers

Wednesday, 28 Jun 2006 08:11
New hope for prostate cancer sufferers
Men with advanced-stage prostate cancer could benefit from a new drug which is capable of reducing pain following its approval by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) today.

Nice's guidance recommends that the drug, docetaxel, should be made widely available on the NHS as it effectively improves the quality of life and extends the lives of men with prostate cancer.

Professor Peter Littlejohns, clinical and public health director at Nice, described docetaxel as "a cost effective way to offer patients additional months of life".

Support for the drug has come from the Prostate Cancer Charity (PCC), which has called for its introduction following Nice's recommendation.

Chris Hiley, head of policy research at PCC, said that the confirmation of docetaxcel, a chemotherapy drug which has been under study by Nice since October 2004, as an effective treatment was "a major step forward".

"We hope this chemotherapy drug will be made immediately available via the NHS to all men with prostate cancer across the UK who could benefit from it, and that no man is denied it on cost grounds.

"This is vital to improving prostate cancer survival, quality of life and treatment choice," she added.

Ms Hiley also said that additional research into docetaxcel might add to the drug's usefulness by investigating its effectiveness against the earlier stages of prostate cancer in younger men.

Around 25,000 people are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in the UK.


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