The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has approved a new targeted treatment for women with advanced breast cancer for use on the NHS.
The new tablet capivasertib is to be used alongside fulverstrant and will be available for the most common type of advanced breast cancer, called hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. Around 1,100 and potentially up to 3,000 women could benefit every year.
The new drug works by blocking the action of the abnormal protein molecule AKT, which drives cancer cells to multiply. It therefore helps to slow or stop the spread of cancer cells.
The new treatment will be offered on the NHS to women whose breast cancer is no longer responding to existing therapies, many of whom would otherwise be facing chemotherapy as their only option.
Clinical trials have shown promising results. Patients receiving the capivasertib and fulvestrant combination experienced an average of 7.2 months before their disease progressed, compared to just 3.6 months for those give a placebo with fulvestrant. Remarkably, the treatment also led to tumour shrinkage in nearly 1 in 4 patients.
All too often here at Stephensons, we see clients who have experienced a delay in diagnosis of cancer. Sadly, in a number of cases, when the cancer is finally diagnosed, it can be too late to commence curative treatment. We are often instructed by the family of a loved one, who has devastatingly passed away prematurely, following a delay in diagnosis.
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