Cancer Research UK: Nice ruling on Herceptin

Friday, 09, Jun 2006 12:00

Cancer Research UK's head of clinical trials Kate Law welcomes the NICE decision on Herceptin:

"Herceptin will now be available to everyone who could benefit from it, regardless of where they live.

"We must remember that Herceptin is only suitable in about one in five cases of breast cancer. So it’s essential not to create a climate of false hope for women, where Herceptin is seen as a miracle cure suitable for everyone with breast cancer.

"NICE appraised Herceptin in record time and we hope it will be able to apply the same processes to other important drugs that are in the pipeline. Time is of the essence when treating cancer patients, so it is imperative that effective new treatments be made available for them as quickly as possible."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Herceptin is a treatment that targets the HER2 protein found on the cells of some breast cancers. Only women who have the HER2 protein on their breast cancer cells could therefore benefit from Herceptin.

For more information about Herceptin, visit Cancer Research UK’s patient information website www.cancerhelp.org.uk < http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/ >