Action needed on prostate cancer services
pharmafile | January 12, 2006 | News story | |
Patients with prostate cancer are a lower NHS priority than those with other major cancers, despite the disease's status as the most common cancer in men.
The Commons public accounts committee said action was needed to bring services for patients with the disease up to the same standards as better served cancers such as breast, lung and bowel.
NHS chief executive Sir Nigel Crisp told the Committee: "Of the four cancers that are covered here, we started by giving the highest level of attention to breast cancer, then the other two, and the fourth one that we got to in that order of priority was urological cancers, prostate cancer in particular."
He said work on the other cancers had proved the NHS approach worked and that he expected to see prostate standards catch up with the others.
But Committee chairman Edward Leigh said its investigations into cancer services in England painted a depressing picture about prostate cancer, which kills some 10,000 each year.
A national survey of 4,300 cancer patients by the National Audit Office in 2004 found that although patients were broadly positive about their experiences, those with prostate cancer reported a worse experience than other cancer patients.
Only 34% of patients with prostate cancer received information on relevant cancer support or self-help groups who could provide information and support, compared with 70% of breast cancer patients.
The Committee called on national cancer director professor Mike Richards to publish an in-depth report on England's prostate services and to implement action plans where improvements were needed.
Professor Richards said: "I would be confident that in another four years from now, we would see prostate having done a major catch-up."
NICE published its guidance on prostate cancer in 2002 and its recommendations on the use of Sanofi-Aventis' Taxotere for men with advanced hormone resistant prostate cancer are expected in July.
In December the Institute gave Taxotere a preliminary recommendation, prompting the Scottish Medicines Committee to say it would reverse its November 2005 decision not to recommend the drug on cost grounds if NICE fully recommends the treatment later this year.
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