Sanofi Genzyme has announced that the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended the use of Jevtana (cabazitaxel) in England.
Jevtana, in combination with prednisone or prednisolone, can be used as a treatment option for patients suffering from metastatic hormone-relapsed prostate cancer (mHRPC).
NICE has recommended the treatment after a review.
Jevtana (cabazitaxel) is a taxane (plant-based) chemotherapy that is active in cancer cells and can resist docetaxel.
The NICE guidance (TA391) reveals that Jevtana (cabazitaxel) is a clinically-effective, as well as cost-effective treatment that helps increase the life of mHRPC patients, thereby increasing the survival rate.
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Cancer Centre clinical oncology professor Nick James said: "I am delighted with this announcement from NICE, which represents an important milestone for men with advanced prostate cancer.
"It means that patients will now have access to another effective treatment, which may offer extended survival to patients who have failed on other treatments."
Prostate cancer is currently the most common form of cancer in men, causing the deaths of nearly 10,500 men in the UK every year.
Most prostate cancers become resistant to hormone therapy with time, and thereby continue to progress in spite of proper treatment.
Jevtana is the only existing NICE approved chemotherapy option to treat advanced prostate cancer, which is not responsive to hormone therapies following initial chemotherapy (docetaxel).
National Health Service (NHS) in Wales, and Health and Social Care (HSC) Northern Ireland, are expected to adopt NICE guidance, while Jevtana (cabazitaxel) is being appraised by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) through its Health Technology Appraisal (HTA) process.
Image: Micrograph showing prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma (the most common form of prostate cancer). Photo: courtesy of Nephron.
