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New breast cancer 'wonder drug' could be available within months
A 'wonder drug' capable of revolutionising breast cancer treatment could be available within months.
Taken once a day at home, Tykerb tablets can halve the speed of the growth of the cancer, giving those in the late stages of the disease several precious extra months of life.
Billed as better than the highly-rated Herceptin, the pills offer hope to at least of third of the 43,000 British women diagnosed with the devastating disease each year.
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline will this week apply for a licence for the drug - which means it could be prescribed to women in the late stages of the disease early next year.
Following further research, it could be cleared for use in women in the early stages of the disease within just two years.
Although no price has yet been set for Tykerb it is believed it will be cheaper than Herceptin which costs £24,000 for a year's course.
However, it will not be available on the NHS unless the Government's drugs rationing body decides its benefits outweigh its cost - a hurdle other cancer drugs have struggled, and in some cases, failed to clear.
Described as a 'Trojan horse', Tykerb, which is also known as lapatinib, seeks out cancer cells and attacks them from within.
Tests have shown it can kill two rogue proteins which, between them, fuel the growth of at least a third of breast cancers. Fellow breast cancer drug Herceptin only targets one of the proteins.
The drug also works in women who have become resistant to Herceptin, leading to Glaxo billing it as being better than its rival.
Given in tablet form, it is also easier to take than Herceptin, which is taken intravenously, and has fewer side-effects.
Trials in hundreds of women have shown that it slows down the progression of the advanced form of two types of breast cancer, known as HER1 and HER2.
The researchers focused on women whose health was getting worse, despite treatment with Herceptin and other drugs.
Half of the women took Tykerb in combination with another treatment called Xeloda, while the other half took Xeloda alone.
Those taking Tykerb and Xeloda found their condition did not deteriorate any further for an average of 37 weeks, while those on Xeloda alone were only given a 20-week reprieve.
The results were seen as so successful that the trial was stopped six months early and Glaxo is now applying for Tykerb to be licensed for use in advanced breast cancer, where the disease has spread either through the breast or through the body.
Likely to be used initially in cases where Herceptin fails to work, it is likely to become more widely used over time.
While it is thought it will also be effective against early-stage breast cancer, more research is necessary before this is confirmed.
Tykerb also offers hope in treating the spread of cancer to the brain - something that often happens in advanced breast cancer.
Trials have shown that the drug can both prevent the spread of the disease to the brain and can help shrink the cancer if it does take root there.
The drug is also showing promise in treating kidney and liver cancers.
Licensing by the European Medicines Agency means it could be on sale in the UK by next June.
Although doctors will be able to prescribe up after licensing, approval from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is needed before it is freely available on the NHS.
Until, then, it will be up to individual trusts to decide whether to fund the drug, creating a postcode lottery.
Yet to be priced, the drug is bound to be more expensive than longer-standing cancer treatment.
However, taken as a tablet at home, it is likely to be cheaper than £24,000-a-year Herceptin, which is infused intravenously in hospital.
Glaxo said it is committed to making the drug as affordable as possible.
'GlaxoSmithKline is acutely aware of issues around the pricing of new oncology treatments,' a spokesman said. 'It is in no-one's interests for innovative, potentially life saving medicines to be inaccessible due to costs and problems of funding.
'We are therefore seeking to establish a worldwide pricing strategy for Tykerb that will not be an obstacle to patients.
'We believe that Tykerb has significant potential to be an essential component of future treatment for women with advanced breast cancer.'
Cancer experts said that while the drug is not a cure, it does offer fresh hope for sufferers of the disease which claims the lives of more than 1,000 British women a month.
Dr Richard Sullivan, of Cancer Research UK, said advanced breast cancer was notoriously hard to treat.
He said: 'This is going to be an exciting and useful additional tool in our overall strategy against breast cancer.
'The real excitement is the question of what will this do for early breast cancer.'
Dr Sarah Rawlings, of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: 'We welcome any developments in effective, targeted treatment for women with breast cancer.
'This new treatment looks promising and might be particularly useful for those women who don?t respond to Herceptin. Its tablet form also offers advantages by making it easier for patients to take.'
'However, it?s at an early stage and we need to see the results of larger trials before we know its true value in treating women with breast cancer.'
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©2006 Associated New Media
