Men Denied Access to Life-Extending Prostate Cancer Medication

Cancer charity 'angry and frustrated' after health leaders do not render prostate cancer medication accessible through NHS England. Abiraterone has been accessible through Scotland and Wales for the past two years but is issued to men without metastatic prostate cancer—not through England or Northern Ireland. NHS England rendered the decision—according to Health Minister Karin Smyth to Prostate Cancer UK—in much deliberation and a decision made on "costs in total." She felt it inappropriate to decline the decision. The government asserted it had asked for this assessment and for a rapid response.


The non-profit organization recently called prostate cancer "a painful and pressing situation in England." It appears there's a "bureaucratic backlog" stopping men from getting this medication. A health department spokesperson claims, "We understand the frustration and rage of so many men who are losing opportunities for this potentially life-saving drug. The ministers are in talks to sort this out, and hopefully, soon."


But in England and Northern Ireland, the drug is only given to men with advanced, metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. However, in Wales and Scotland, they give the drug to men who are non-metastatic. The studies indicate that the second group has a much higher 6-year survival rate. In addition, the drug lowered the metastasis rate by 50%.


This single intervention, the charity claims, could save thousands of lives. The 2022 findings of the Stampede trial found that men who received this intervention in addition to the standard of care had higher survival rates—abiraterone is the standard of care. Per NHS England, 8,400 men are diagnosed with high-risk, non-metastatic prostate cancer annually. According to Stampede trial results, 672 men will die needlessly without it.


A person among many to speak to BBC News regarding prostate cancer is Sussex retiree and banker Giles Turner. According to an October 2023 article from BBC News, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in early 2023. However, a few months later, he discovered that he wouldn't be eligible for abiraterone to be covered by the NHS in England.


Yet in December 2024, it informed Prostate Cancer UK that "it has yet to discover requisite fiscal availability." Abiraterone is a key drug and "off patent," as well as being licensed for one cohort of prostate cancer patients. The provision pathway for reduced fees through the expansion is convoluted. NHS England can engage annually in "discretionary" financial ventures with a certain panel, but this panel decided to do neither for this drug.