Thousands of men with prostate cancer are being denied a life-saving drug because ministers have refused calls to make it available through the NHS in England.
Trials have shown abiraterone can stop prostate cancer from spreading and it can extend the lives of those with the disease.
For the past two years, patients in Scotland and Wales have been able to get the drug for free on the NHS if there is a high risk of the cancer spreading, but men in England or Northern Ireland are only eligible once it has spread.
Until then they have to pay around £250 a month for a private prescription or go without – leaving them at greater risk of death.
In a letter to Prostate Cancer UK, seen by the BBC, Health Minister Karin Symth said NHS England’s decision was ‘based on overall affordability’ and that ‘it would not be appropriate to intervene’.
Prostate Cancer UK said it is ‘angry and frustrated’ at the lack of approval, adding it was a ‘dire and urgent situation in England’ with ‘a bureaucratic blockage denying men this treatment’.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘We understand the frustration and upset of some patients who cannot access this potentially life-saving treatment. Ministers have requested urgent advice on the issue.’
Abiraterone can help prevent prostate cancer from spreading throughout the body.
Thousands of men with prostate cancer are being denied a life-saving drug because ministers have refused calls to make it available through the NHS in England (stock image)
Health Minister Karin Symth said NHS England’s decision was ‘based on overall affordability’ and that ‘it would not be appropriate to intervene’ (stock image)
Prostate cancer is the most common form of the disease in men – with 55,033 diagnosed in 2023 compared with 47,526 people with breast cancer (stock image)
In January, prostate cancer reached the ‘grim milestone’ of being the most diagnosed cancer in the country.
It is already the most common form of the disease in men – with 55,033 diagnosed in 2023 compared with 47,526 people with breast cancer.
Experts have pointed towards the lack of GP access particularly impacted prostate cancer, leading to a massive shortfall in testing and diagnosis.
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak last month became an ambassador for Prostate Cancer Research, saying he hoped his work for the charity would help more men to get a screening test ‘which will hopefully prevent further needless deaths’.
The Daily Mail has been campaigning for the Government to ‘end the needless prostate deaths’.
