14 March 2023
We are delighted that the Scottish Medical Consortium (SMC) has this week announced that they have approved the drug olaparib for men with advanced prostate cancer who are not suitable for chemotherapy.
The SMC has confirmed that the drug, which works by blocking a cancer cell’s ability to repair itself when it is injured, can be used along with hormone therapy and steroids, to treat patients with prostate cancer which has spread to other parts of the body, and where hormone therapy alone has not worked, and where chemotherapy is not an option, will be made available on NHSScotland.
A large clinical trial showed that this treatment increases survival in patients with metastatic prostate cancer which does not respond to hormone therapy. The SMC considered the scientific evidence alongside the views of patients and clinicians. We at Prostate Cancer Research are proud to have supported the assessment process which led to this outcome.
“Patients with metastatic prostate cancer need more options, and when science delivers a breakthrough treatment, it should be made available to everybody. There are lots of reasons that many men can’t have chemotherapy and we’re very happy to see that the SMC has taken this opportunity to provide those people with another option. We’re glad we were able to do our part to make the voices of patients heard while the SMC were carrying out their assessment, and thank the SMC and all of the patients involved for their work.”
David James
Director of Patient Projects at PCR