New Life-Extending Cancer Pills Launched In UK
Online, September 21, 2011 (Newswire.com) - A new oral therapy for prostate cancer, abiraterone acetate (Zytiga), has been launched in the UK and is likely to become available on the NHS in the New Year if an accelerated review by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is favourable.
In April this year abiraterone was fast-tracked for FDA-approval for use in the United States, and earlier this month the drug was approved by the European Commission following public calls from a number of leading prostate cancer specialists - notably Consultant Urologist Professor Roger Kirby.
Professor Kirby, who has been involved in the development of national guidelines for prostate healthcare in the UK, believes this news reflects Britain's improving prostate cancer treatment capabilities. He is one of the world's leading prostate surgeons and founder of the Prostate Centre. He has specialised in the prostate throughout his career and has personally undertaken over 2000 radical prostatectomy operations.
Dr Heather Payne, a consultant at The Prostate Centre, was involved in the clinical trials of abiraterone - comparing the drug with dummy pills. Dr Payne was interviewed by Sky News to discuss the drug and the hope that it offers to late-stage prostate cancer patients.
When speaking to Sky News Dr Payne said: "This is a big breakthrough. It became quite obvious during the trial which men were being treated with the drug rather than the placebo dummy pill.
"Their pain improved, their quality of life improved, and tests showed the cancer getting better."
The Prostate Centre in London is the UK's leading independent centre for the care and treatment of prostate-related health issues. The Prostate Centre is a unique private outpatient clinic offering expert assessment, diagnosis and management of all prostate-related problems.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is expected to decide in 2012 whether the drug will formally be made available on the NHS. Until then men can either pay for the drug privately, or apply for funding from the government's Cancer Drugs Fund.