Charity ‘disappointed’ by decision to reject breast cancer drug
Concerns have been raised after the NHS spending watchdog has provisionally rejected a new treatment for women with advanced breast cancer. Breast Cancer Now said that elacestrant could bring “precious additional time with loved ones” before disease progression.
It comes as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) issued draft guidance which does not recommend elacestrant for treating a type of advanced breast cancer.
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But Nice said that it is “ready to work with” manufacturer Menarini Stemline to address “uncertainty in evidence” surrounding the medication.
The draft guidance, which has been put out for consultation, does not recommend the treatment, also known as Korserdu, for treating a specific kind of cancer – oestrogen receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-), locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer with an activating ESR1 mutation.
There are currently no targeted treatments available on the NHS for this type of advanced breast cancer.
Evidence suggests that elacestrant can increase how long people have before their breast cancer gets worse compared with standard care.
But Nice said that there is “considerable uncertainty” about the estimates and has asked the company for further clarification.
Helen Knight, director of health technology evaluation at Nice, said: “The committee heard how living with incurable secondary breast cancer is distressing and stressful for the person and their family and carers, affecting all aspects of their lives.
“The main area of uncertainty the committee had to contend with was the estimates for how long elacestrant stopped the disease from getting worse compared with current clinical practice.
“We stand ready to work with the company to try and address the issues identified by the committee in this draft guidance.”
Charity Breast Cancer Now said it was “disappointed” by the announcement.
Commenting on the news, Claire Rowney, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, said: “For people with this type of secondary breast cancer, elacestrant could bring precious additional time with loved ones and doing what matters most to them before the disease progresses, compared to treatments currently available.
“It’s deeply concerning that patients currently stand to be denied this chance to benefit from extra time.
“We understand that Nice has concerns about uncertainties in the data on the clinical effectiveness of elacestrant, and we urge Nice and Menarini Stemline to work closely together to explore all solutions to resolve these issues and see the provisional decision reversed.
“Unless this happens, patients could be denied the precious chance of being offered this targeted treatment option that gives them more time before their cancer progresses.”