Skin cancer drug should be available on NHS, officials say

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/18/skin-cancer-drug-dabrafenib-on-nhs-nice-suggests

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A new drug for skin cancer patients should be made widely available on the NHS, health officials have said.

Dabrafenib can have a "rapid positive effect" on patients with a certain type of melanoma, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said.

Final draft guidance from the health body suggested the drug should be made available provided it was sold to the NHS at a discount.

Dabrafenib, marketed by GlaxoSmithKline, targets a specific type of skin cancer which tests positive for the BRAF V600 mutation.

It kills cancer cells with the mutation, which can slow or stop the growth of the cancer.

Nice says the drug, also known as Tafinlar, should be made available for patients whose cancer tested positive for the mutation and had spread or could not be completely removed by surgery.

Prof Carole Longson, director for the centre for health technology evaluation at Nice, said: "For a long time, the treatments available for skin cancer which has spread have been very limited.

"However, in recent years, a number of breakthrough treatments that can potentially significantly improve the prognosis for some people with malignant melanoma have become available.

"Drugs like dabrafenib are also thought to have very rapid positive effect for patients, even in those who are very unwell or bedridden. In some cases, it has enabled people to resume everyday activities."

Welcoming the news, Prof Paul Workman, interim chief executive of the Institute of Cancer Research, said: "It's great news that Nice has given the green light to use dabrafenib on the NHS.

"Its approval underlines the importance of a new generation of cancer drugs targeted at specific molecular features of tumours – drugs which after years of painstaking development are now making their way to patients.

"The discovery of dabrafenib was underpinned by research done here at the Institute of Cancer Research, and its approval increases the treatment options available on the NHS for patients with metastatic melanoma."