A drug used to treat women with the form of cancer that led Angelina Jolie to have her ovaries removed has been rejected as too expensive for NHS Scotland.

Olaparib, which “preferentially kills cancer cells”, is given to women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations of the disease.

It has received public funding for patients in France, the Netherlands and Sweden and has been found to keep ovarian cancer at bay for up to five years.

Four hundred women die from the disease – the fourth most frequently diagnosed cancer in women in Scotland – each year.

The BRCA cancer gene is carried by Hollywood actress Jolie, who had a double mastectomy in 2013 and had her ovaries removed earlier this year.

Last night, the Scottish ruling was described as “extremely disappointing” by campaigners.

For more details, go to: http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/590889/cancer-Scotland-denied-wonder-drug