Stop denying thousands of women with incurable breast cancer wonder drug that could boost survival almost 50%, NHS urged

A lifeline drug currently denied to thousands of women with incurable breast cancer could boost survival by almost 50 per cent, pivotal new research has suggested.

Medics hailed the drug Enhertu after the trial showed it could extend the lives of patients with one of the hardest to treat forms of the disease, buying them an extra year or more of life.

Campaigners said the new findings add to the ‘betrayal’ that they cannot get the life-extending treatment on the NHS in England or Wales when it is already available in Scotland.

It follows repeated decisions by NHS spending watchdog the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to deny the ‘wonder drug’ on cost grounds using new criteria which does not class all terminal cancers as ‘severe’.

Also known as trastuzumab deruxtecan, it is a targeted treatment for patients with an aggressive and fast-growing type of cancer, known as HER2-positive—accounting for roughly one in five cases of the disease.

Researchers presenting the findings at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago said it showed Enhertu was a ‘highly effective’ drug that should become the first port of call for patients with this form of breast cancer.

In the trial, women taking the drug alongside another treatment called pertuzumab, lived without their cancer growing for 40.7 months on average, compared to just 26.9 among those who took standard treatment—the drug trastuzumab and pertuzumab.

Enhertu slashed the risk of death or the disease progressing by 44 per cent, they added.

Campaigners said the new findings add to the ‘betrayal’ that they cannot get the life-extending treatment on the NHS in England or Wales when it is already available in Scotland. Pictured, Campaigners in Westminster last July paint their breasts to send a message that Enhertu should be made available on the NHS

Enhertu was refused on cost grounds last year, despite being available in Scotland and across Europe

After two years, around 70 per cent of patients on the new combination had not seen their cancer grow or spread, compared to around 52 per cent on standard treatment.

For those who had received the combination, 85 per cent saw their cancer shrink or disappear compared to 78.6 per cent in the standard treatment group.

Dr Sara Tolaney, head of breast oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and study lead author, said: ‘This trial has the potential to establish a new first line treatment for advanced HER2-positive breast cancer, a setting which hasn’t seen significant innovation in more than a decade.

Trastuzumab deruxtecan is a ‘highly effective’ and ‘promising’ therapy, she added.

Around 1,000 women each year in England could benefit from the drug, which patients described as ‘the last roll of the dice’.

Last year, after NICE prevented the drug from receiving NHS funding—a decision the charity Breast Cancer Now called ‘a dark day for women with incurable breast cancer’—one 46-year-old patient told how Enhertu would give her more time with her seven-year-old daughter Grace.

Former marketing professional, Kathryn Hulland, who lives in Devon, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020 and underwent chemotherapy and surgery to remove the tumour.

She responded well, but at Christmas 2022 she found a lump on her neck and was told her cancer had returned and spread.

Symptoms of breast cancer to look out for include lumps and swellings, dimpling of the skin, changes in colour, discharge and a rash or crusting around the nipple

Former marketing professional, Kathryn Hulland, who lives in Devon, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020 and underwent chemotherapy and surgery to remove the tumour. She responded well, but at Christmas 2022 she found a lump on her neck and was told her cancer had returned and spread

Checking your breasts should be part of your monthly routine so you notice any unusual changes. Simply rub and feel from top to bottom, in semi-circles and in a circular motion around your breast tissue to identify any abnormalities

She said: ‘If my chemo stops working, there won’t be many treatments left.’

She added: ‘Six months more with her would mean the world. It’s heartbreaking that patients in Scotland can get it, but I can’t. It’s a lifeline I can’t reach.’

Following NICE’s decision, in an unusual move the watchdog hit out at AstraZeneca, the British firm who manufactures Enhertu, accusing it of being ‘unwilling to offer a fair price’.

But the pharmaceutical giant said the drug—believed to cost about £120,000 a year per patient—was available in 18 other European countries, including Scotland.

Breast cancer specialist and author Dr Liz O’Riordan told MailOnline today: ‘This trial yet again shows the huge benefits Enhertu can offer women, giving them vital extra months and years.

‘This postcode lottery is so unfair. It’s a betrayal to patients in England and Wales that they cannot access Enhertu, when it is already available in Scotland.

‘What more will it take for it to be approved.’

Dr Catherine Elliott, director of research at Cancer Research UK, meanwhile told MailOnline: ‘Treatments that target HER2-positive metastatic breast cancers have transformed outcomes for many people but most still see their cancer progress within two years of starting treatment.

‘These trial results suggest that adding Enhertu to the standard treatment could prevent or slow the growth of this type of breast cancer beyond three years.

‘Importantly, people given this treatment were also more likely to see their tumour shrink or disappear.’