Why has obtaining Herceptin for treating early stage breast cancer been a postcode lottery so far?
Herceptin is currently licensed for use in women with advanced breast cancer, where the disease has spread within the breast or to another organ. Research has suggested that it could also benefit women in the early stages of the disease, but it is not currently licensed for use in this group of patients. Some health trusts do however provide it if they feel they can afford it, and it is recommend by a patient’s doctor. Others, such as Swindon PCT, have decided against this policy, because of concerns over efficacy and safety as it has yet to be licensed, or because of cost. What has the Appeal Court said in its ruling today on Herceptin? The Court of Appeal ruled that the policy of Swindon PCT, which was taken to court by a patient who had been denied the treatment, was “irrational and unlawful”. It agreed that as the patient, Ann Marie Rogers, had undisputed clinical need and the treatment had been advised by her doctor, it was “arbitrary in the extreme to say…’you can’t have this dru
