Men denied life-extending prostate cancer drug

The charity said it was a "dire and urgent situation in England" with "a bureaucratic blockage denying men this treatment".

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We understand the frustration and upset of some patients who cannot access this potentially life-saving treatment. Ministers have requested urgent advice on the issue."

Although not a cure, abiraterone can help stop prostate cancer spreading to other parts of the body.

In England and Northern Ireland, the drug is only approved for men with very advanced prostate cancer which has spread already.

In Wales and Scotland, people with the disease that has not yet spread can also get it.

Research has shown that for these earlier stage patients, the survival rate after six years is improved and that the drug halved the rate of progression of the cancer.

The charity says many lives could be extended by the drug, given the findings from a trial called Stampede, published in 2022.

It found improved odds of survival among men given the drug alongside usual care, and concluded that abiraterone should be considered a new standard treatment.

According to figures from NHS England, each year about 8,400 patients have high-risk prostate cancer that has not yet spread.

Using the Stampede assumptions, 672 of those men could die prematurely without access to abiraterone.