Benefits of Herceptin
Thursday, 29 Nov 2007 11:04
Herceptin has been licensed for use in the NHS for breast cancer
A debate on the benefits of the breast cancer drug Herceptin has been triggered after a leading medic said a greater emphasis should be placed on providing radiotherapy.
Dr Peter Kirkbride, chief spokesman on radiotherapy for the NHS, has questioned whether the £100 million spent on Herceptin in 2006 was cost-effective.
He told BBC Radio 4's The Investigation that about 500 patients had benefited at a cost of around £200,000 each.
But if money for the drug had been spent on radiotherapy then it could have a dramatic effect, he said.
Herceptin rose to prominence a few years ago when a number of women undertook court action to force their primary care trusts to provide the drug even before it had been granted approval by the UK's drug regulator, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice).
Approval has now been granted by Nice and a number of cancer experts believe it could save the lives of hundreds of patients.
"There is a lot of publicity about the role of chemotherapy but the consensus is of all cancers that are cured, half are cured by surgeries, 40 per cent by radiotherapy and only ten per cent by drugs," Dr Kirkbride said.
"If I was to spend £100 million on radiotherapy, I could buy something like 90 machines, I could buy 30 simulators and I could probably benefit about 30,000 patients for the same amount of money."
inthenews.co.uk brings you all the key responses and comment on the issue throughout the day.
