Claire Rowney, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, said:
“We’re disappointed that NICE has provisionally rejected elacestrant (Korserdu), a promising treatment for certain people with ER-positive, HER2-negative incurable secondary breast cancer with an ESR1 mutation, for use on the NHS in England.
“An ESR1 mutation is a genetic change that often occurs after long-term use of hormone therapy, which is commonly used to treat this type of secondary breast cancer. This mutation is also associated with the disease progressing faster and worse survival rates, yet no targeted treatments are available on the NHS for people with it.
“For people with this type of secondary breast cancer, elacestrant could bring precious additional time with loved ones and doing what matters most to them before the disease progresses, compared to treatments currently available. It’s deeply concerning that patients currently stand to be denied this chance to benefit from extra time.
“We understand that NICE has concerns about uncertainties in the data on the clinical effectiveness of elacestrant, and we urge NICE and Menarini Stemline to work closely together to explore all solutions to resolve these issues and see the provisional decision reversed. Unless this happens, patients could be denied the precious chance of being offered this targeted treatment option that gives them more time before their cancer progresses.”
ENDS