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Women Still Denied Cancer Wonder Drug By the NHS 'Postcode Lottery'

Posted on: Tuesday, 25 January 2005, 18:00 CST

WOMEN with breast cancer still face a postcode lottery over the prescription of drugs and early access to specialist treatment, a damning report revealed today.

London has some of the best and worst areas for receiving Herceptin, a drug which can double the survival time for some women with advanced breast cancer.

It means a woman diagnosed with breast cancer in Wimbledon is almost certain to get the drug, while another in Edmonton, just over 20 miles away, has a less than one in four chance of getting the same prescription.

More than a year has passed since the watchdog National Institute of Clinical Excellence said everyone who is eligible should get the drug on the NHS.

The figures were published in a report from the influential Public Accounts Committee which shows the UK still lags behind the rest of Europe in survival rates for cancer.

The study, published today, also found that as people in poorer areas were likely to have their cancer diagnosed at a later stage, they were less likely to have a favourable outcome.

The paper also criticised delays in the system, with GPs failing to refer patients to specialists early enough and long waiting times for diagnostic tests such as radiology. However, it said the NHS is increasing staff numbers and the amount of equipment available for tests which should help to improve the situation.

The committee's report added: "If England's survival rates were comparable with the best in Europe, thousands more people across society, particularly those from deprived backgrounds, would survive for appreciable amounts of time after diagnosis."

Professor John Toy, medical director of Cancer Research UK, said although survival rates had improved there was still much more to do.

He added: "The gap in cancer survival between rich and poor needs to be addressed, in tandem with efforts to reduce incidence of cancer among deprived groups."

Source: Evening Standard; London (UK)

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