Posted by Michael Wonder on 24 Jul 2016
Cancer experts write to government to demand life saving drug be used on NHS
24 July 2016 - Cancer specialists from around the UK have written to the Government’s health watchdog to demand a potentially life-saving cancer drug is made available to NHS patients.
In trials of Nnvolumab, which is used in the treatment of kidney cancer, researchers found 55 per cent of the 406 patients given the drug survived beyond two years.
It is believed many could go on to live far longer. By contrast, 45 per cent of patients survived for 19 months on standard treatment.
The trial into nivolumab, which boosts the body’s immune system to destroy the cancer cells, was stopped prematurely in July.
Health watchdog NICE later announced its preliminary decision not to approve NHS funding of the drug.
This angered top cancer specialists who have written to Nice demanding it be approved.
Among the signatories to the letter is Professor John Wagstaff, a cancer specialist at Swansea University, who helped carry out the trial.
