Men with incurable prostate cancer are facing a “postcode lottery of care”, a charity warned, after it raised concerns that some patients may not get access to a new drug approved for NHS use in England.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has given the green light for a new “gentler” treatment for prostate cancer among men whose disease has spread to other parts of the body.
But Prostate Cancer UK said that some men may not benefit, even with the approval.
Nice said that about 6,000 men with metastatic prostate cancer will get access to a new treatment combination as it recommended darolutamide, also known as Nubeqa and made by Bayer, for certain men with “hormone sensitive” advanced prostate cancer.
Darolutamide, taken as two tablets twice daily, works by blocking hormones fuelling cancer growth.
The treatment is to be delivered alongside androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), a hormone therapy which lowers testosterone levels.
Nice said that data show the treatment combination is better than using ADT alone and is effective as other combination treatments.
“We are determined to ensure that effective treatments such as darolutamide, which can help extend the length and quality of people’s lives, are made available fast to the people who need them,” said Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation at Nice.
Prostate Cancer UK said the combination offers men a “gentler” treatment option as it leads to fewer side effects compared to ADT in combination with other equivalent therapies.
This may be beneficial for older men or those who cannot be prescribed current treatments.
But the charity raised concerns that some men will not be able to access the combination.
It highlighted data from the recent national prostate cancer audit which showed that less than half (47 per cent) of men with incurable prostate cancer receive the latest recommended treatments.
In some areas, this falls to less than 40 per cent of men getting these treatments, the charity said, as it called regional differences a “postcode lottery of care”.
Amy Rylance, assistant director of health improvement at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “Darolutamide is an effective treatment that could make a huge difference for men with incurable prostate cancer.
“But the reality is that too many men will still miss out on treatments that could extend their lives, simply because of where they live, their age, or their ethnicity.
“Nice approval is only the first step – the government must ensure the new national cancer plan tackles these inequities and ensures that proven treatments actually reach the men who need them.”
Peter Johnson, national clinical director for cancer at NHS England, said: “This decision provides another welcome treatment option for patients living with an advanced and aggressive form of prostate cancer.
“With several proven therapies already available on the NHS, this approval gives clinicians and their patients more flexibility to choose the approach best suited to individual circumstances and clinical needs.”
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