Prostate Cancer:
Not much hope yet for new drug but …
01May13: There is not much hope yet for Australian men
with incurable prostate cancer who need Abiraterone unless they are rich and
chemotherapy is not working
The approval process for the new drug, also called
Zytiga, appears to have stalled. There is no positive news, just one small ray
of hope for the future.
I am reliably informed that the manufacturer, Janssen-Cilag
is currently working with the TGA to have Abiraterone registered for the treatment
of mCRPC patients who have not received chemotherapy (as is now the case in the
USA ) and
intends to seek PBS subsidy for this indication.
Unfortunately, this process can seem interminable.
This has to succeed to save Australian patients from a
premature painful death.
All who have not yet signed the petition to the
Minister for Health, Tanya Plibersek, are urgently invited to do so at: http://chn.ge/QsuSHc . Read
more below.
Government Inaction on New Prostate Cancer Drug Abiraterone (Zytiga) Gets
Media Attention
In “The International News
Magazine” on Thursday, 28 March 2013 Greg Rogers published and article, “Prostate Cancer Treatment Zytiga Needs
Listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme” (URL for article: http://goo.gl/saNM9 ).
Greg also provided the
following link to a letter from The PCFA (Prostate Cancer Foundation
of Australia) to the Minister urging immediate action. Read that letter here.
This issue was also explored
by Rachael Brown on 31 March 2013 in an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, "Prostate cancer drug tied up in red tape" (See: http://goo.gl/hEgFl
).
You can help change the
discrimination against many incurable prostate cancer patients in Australia by
signing the petition to the Minister for Health,
"PBS should pay for
Abiraterone for all incurable prostate cancer patients" and
broadcast this request to all your contacts asking them to sign this petition (see
URL: http://chn.ge/QsuSHc ). All such help is much appreciated.
Here is a bit of further clarification. Only half the story is getting
publicity. Even when the government eventually approves PBS listing there are
many more incurable mCRPC patients who are not be eligible and so they are
going to die painfully sooner than they should.
This is happening in Australia because the PBAC recommendation for a PBS subsidy
for this drug is only for those patients who have failed a course of
chemotherapy and are on their last legs. For this (first) group to get the drug
the Federal Minister now only needs to give approval. So far she hasn't and the
process is dragging on while patients suffer and die.
In USA the FDA has now
approved Abiraterone acetate (Zytiga)
for a second group of men with advanced prostate cancer without demanding they first
fail a course of chemotherapy to qualify.
In Australia , because of the huge cost of Abiraterone and a lack
of anyone seeking a PBS subsidy, those in this second group of incurables are
doomed to suffer the ongoing ravages of their cancer and the side effects of
chemotherapy until they also are "death's door". Only then, with
little time left, may they hope to join the first group.
At present there is no such
recommendation even being considered for pre-chemotherapy patients – seemingly not
even from the manufacturer; not from the medical profession; not from involved
community organizations. Several thousand incurables who could have a useful
and pain free extension of life "pre-chemo" are being denied this
effective treatment and an earlier death is guaranteed by the inaction. Please sign and get your friends to sign this petition at: http://chn.ge/QsuSHc , and what about an email to your local
member and the Leader of the Opposition tony.abbott.mp@aph.gov.au .
References
and supporting articles:
In the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) on 17 January, 2013
researchers concluded that, "Abiraterone in
Metastatic Prostate Cancer without Previous Chemotherapy" improved radiographic progression-free survival, showed a
trend toward improved overall survival, and significantly delayed clinical
decline and initiation of chemotherapy in patients with metastatic
castration-resistant prostate cancer."
(see URL: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1209096 )
A review in UroToday (Urology News) published on 08 February 2013 interprets the (NEJM)
report above as, "this shows that the patients can live longer without
disease progression, can live longer without symptoms, can live longer until
performance status deteriorates, can live longer until receiving chemotherapy,
can live longer until starting opiates for pain, and probably live longer
overall." (see URL: http://goo.gl/D2NGm )