tarcevarash

A WOMAN who has campaigned tirelessly for a new lung cancer drug for her husband and other sufferers has been commended for her hard work.

Deanne Jenkyns, 40, from Bainbridge Avenue, South Shields, received an award from The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation at a patient conference.

Her husband Jimmy, 55, was diagnosed with lung cancer in April last year, and his oncologist at South Tyneside District Hospital recommended the use of Tarceva.

But South Tyneside Primary Care Trust (PCT) refused to fund the drug, because it has not yet been approved for use in England and Wales.

Mrs Jenkyns, who runs a contract cleaning business with her husband, launched a high-profile campaign to put pressure on the PCT to reverse the decision.

She set up the website www.lc-action4life.co.uk and staged a demonstration outside the hospital.

Last month, the PCT agreed to fund the drug for Mr Jenkyns for two months, until his next scan.

He had been paying for the drug privately, at a cost of £1,700 a month, and a scan in July showed the inoperable tumour on his lung had shrunk by a third.

It has also allowed him to lead a more normal life, as the one-a-day pill is less invasive than chemotherapy, and has fewer side effects.

The Jenkyns' campaign was given a further boost when the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence announced it will review its guidance on the drug, which is available on the NHS in Scotland.

Mr Jenkyns described his wife's 'thank you' award from the UK's only dedicated lung cancer charity as "a fitting tribute to a remarkable woman."

Mrs Jenkyns said: "It was really unexpected, but it is nice to be appreciated. It's reward enough for me that Jimmy's all right."

Joyce Dunlop, director of patient care for The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, said: "The award was richly deserved and recognises her efforts in raising the profile of the disease, and campaigning tirelessly for patient rights.

"Her care and support of her husband has been inspirational for both staff and other patients.

"By highlighting his story in the media, she has helped many others through a very difficult period."

Jimmy waits on new drug ruling

A MEDICAL decision could help a lung cancer sufferer using a vital drug buying him precious time.

Jimmy Jenkyns, 55, of Bainbridge Avenue, Simonside, South Shields, had been paying £1,700 a month for Tarceva, until South Tyneside Primary Care Trust (PCT) last week agreed to pay for a drug for two months which is prolonging his life.
Now the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) has said it will reconsider general guidance on the use of the drug.
The decision followed an appeal by Cancerbackup and the Roy Castle Cancer Foundation against the original decision in June not to approve the drug.
In response to the announcement, the groups said: "The decision by NICE is encouraging, because Tarceva provides another treatment option. It can give patients some extra time. Until the NICE guidance is final, clinicians should continue to prescribe this treatment.
"We hope that this treatment can now be swiftly approved and Tarceva made available.
"However, we are concerned that patients have been left waiting too long for a decision on this important treatment.
"The appeal was heard in June and in accordance with the NICE guide to the process, it should have come to its decision within four weeks.
"Patients continue to be left in limbo, waiting to know about the future of their cancer treatment."
Mr Jenkyns's wife, Deanne, 40, said: "This sounds promising. Anything which stops the postcode lottery is to be welcomed.
"We are hoping to have a final decision from NICE next week."
The couple plan to meet South Shields MP David Miliband to discuss their drug campaign.

Jimmy's joy after cancer drug U-turn

LUNG cancer sufferer Jimmy Jenkyns is celebrating today after health chiefs decided to fund a life-prolonging drug.

In an astonishing u-turn, South Tyneside Primary Care Trust (PCT) has said it will pay for two months worth of Tarceva for Mr Jenkyns.

The 55-year-old has been paying for the drug himself at a cost of £1,700 a month for the last five months.

And Tarceva has worked wonders for Mr Jenkyns, from Bainbridge Avenue, Simonside, South Shields.

A scan in July showed the tumour on his lung had shrunk by a third and some secondary tumours had disappeared.

Although not a cure, Tarceva is less invasive than chemotherapy and has been shown to give patients a better quality of life.

The PCT had refused to fund the drug because it has not yet been approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice).

But Mr Jenkyns, who was diagnosed in April last year, and wife Deanne, 40, who run their own cleaning business, have led a high-profile campaign to make the drug available on the NHS.

A delighted Mrs Jenkyns contacted the Gazette within minutes of hearing the news they had been hoping for.

She said: "When they first told me I was a bit bewildered because we have fought for so long, but it has all been worth it. I hope Nice will now approve it.

"I'm going to a Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation Conference next week and it will be lovely to say 'we fought for it and won'."

Mr Jenkyns, a grandfather-of-one, is due another scan in two months, and hopes the PCT will continue to fund the drug if it shows it is still having an impact.

"I'm over the moon that they have agreed to fund the drug, but I think they are still hedging their bets a bit," he said.

Dr Judy Thomas, executive director of public health for NHS South of Tyne and Wear, which covers South Tyneside Primary Care Trust, said: "This decision was made on an individual case basis only in response to personal circumstances presented by Mr Jenkyns.

"It has no implications regionally on whether or not Tarceva is provided generally on the NHS."

Fight for cancer drug 'to worsen'

FUNDING cancer drugs will become increasingly challenging for the NHS, according to a north-east cancer specialist.
Professor Herbie Newell, from the Northern Institute for Cancer Research, admits the NHS has limited resources and difficult decisions to make.

His comments come after 180 cancer doctors said they fear the NHS will be unable to fund the new generation of cancer drugs.

They include Tarceva, which can extend the life of patients like lung cancer sufferer Jimmy Jenkyns, from South Shields, who is fighting to have the drug prescribed for him on the NHS. At the moment, the 54-year-old is funding the pills himself, but has had to borrow money to foot the £1,700-a-month bill.

Professor Newell, professor of cancer therapeutics and Cancer Research UK's director of translational research, said: "We know the NHS has limited resources and difficult choices to make about which treatments it can afford.

"With an ageing population and a growing number of cancer patients, the expensive anti-cancer treatments becoming available will increase the NHS's challenges."

Mr Jenkyns and his wife Deanne, 39, are campaigning for Tarceva to be made available on the NHS on behalf of other patients.

It's not a cure, but it is less invasive than chemotherapy and has fewer side effects, giving cancer patients a better quality of life.

Mrs Jenkyns, from Bainbridge Avenue, Simonside, said: "The Lung Cancer Patients Charter states that all patients be given rapid access to up to date treatments.

"Yet patients are being denied the use of this drug, unless, of course, they are in a position financially to fund it themselves."

Mr Jenkyns, who runs a commercial cleaning business, was refused Tarceva on the NHS by South Tyneside Primary Care Trust (PCT) earlier this year.

It has not yet been passed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, and the PCT said its benefits have not yet been proven.

The couple are appealing against the decision and have paid for two months' worth of treatment to help their case.

NICE confirms Tarceva ruling

MONDAY 12 MARCH 2007

A lung cancer patient has said he is "over the moon" after winning an injunction to receive the drug Tarceva.

Paul Bould, 51, of Morecambe, Lancashire, was prescribed the drug by his doctor to ease the symptoms of his terminal illness and prolong life.

But Morecambe Bay Primary Care Trust refused to pay for the Tarceva, which costs £1,500 for a month's treatment.

The High Court ruled Mr Bould must be allowed access to the drug until a full judicial review can be heard.

Papers to initiate a judicial review on the PCT's decision not to treat Mr Bould were served on Monday.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) is currently appraising Tarceva for use on the NHS and final guidance is expected in December.

He could now be entering the final phase of his life and to deny him this drug on financial grounds is wrong on every level

Yogi Amin
Paul Bould's solicitor

Speaking from his hospital bed at the Lancaster Royal Infirmary, Mr Bould said the drug could prolong his life.

He said: "I'm over the moon about this decision. I've been on the drug for the last two months after my doctor prescribed it.

Mr Bould's solicitor, Yogi Amin of law firm Irwin Mitchell, who represented breast cancer sufferer Ann-Marie Rogers in her battle for the drug Herceptin, said his client's case was "particularly desperate".

He added: "We have evidence that this drug would significantly improve his quality of life as well as help extend it.

"When he took the drug, Paul's condition improved measurably almost immediately.

"He could now be entering the final phase of his life and to deny him this drug on financial grounds is wrong on every level.

"However, in particular we will be arguing that denial of this drug is a breach of Paul's human rights and in particular his right for life."

The injunction means that Mr Bould, who was diagnosed in August 2004, will continue to receive the drug until a full judicial review can be heard.

The PCT faces major challenges in fulfilling its responsibility to all its residents in Morecambe Bay

Morecambe Bay PCT

A statement from Morecambe Bay PCT said: "The PCT is committed to funding medical treatment, support and care of proven effectiveness for patients with all forms of cancer.

"However, the PCT faces major challenges in fulfilling its responsibility to all its residents in Morecambe Bay to make best use of finite available funds, to prioritise funding for those drugs and medical treatments that are cost effective and of proven medical effectiveness."

Funding for Tarceva has not been approved by any of the cancer networks in the north-west of England, it added.

Basel, 26 April 2004

New cancer drug Tarceva - a breakthrough with significant survival benefit in patients with advanced lung cancer
First and only drug in a new class (HER1/EGFR-inhibitors) to show survival benefit in a randomized phase III trial

Roche, Genentech, Inc. and OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced positive results from a phase III study of Tarceva (erlotinib) in relapsed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The study met its primary endpoint of improving overall survival with patients on Tarceva living longer than those in the placebo arm. The trial also met secondary endpoints including improving time to symptomatic deterioration, progression-free survival and response rate.

“These Tarceva results are great news, confirming the earlier promising single agent activity in patients with relapsed non-small cell lung cancer. Tarceva is the first and only EGFR-targeted drug showing improved survival in patients with NSCLC. We will be striving to make Tarceva available as quickly as possible to patients,” said William M. Burns, Head of Roche’s Pharmaceuticals Division. “Tarceva joins Herceptin, MabThera, Xeloda and Avastin as the fifth cancer medicine in our portfolio with a proven survival benefit. This puts us in an unparalleled position and further underlines Roche’s leadership in oncology.”

“Tarceva is the first EGFR-inhibitor that has been shown to extend survival in patients with relapsed non-small cell lung cancer, for whom there are very limited treatments possible,” said Professor Nick Thatcher, Chairman on Lung Cancer Group, Christie and Wythenshawe Hospitals Manchester, UK. “The results of this controlled trial with Tarceva are very exciting for all of us in the oncology community. But even more so for people with lung cancer, the biggest cancer killer in Europe.”

About the Study
The international study was conducted by the National Cancer Institute of Canada, Clinical Trials Group at Queens University (NCIC CTG) in collaboration with OSI. The primary endpoint in this study was overall survival. Secondary endpoints include time to symptomatic deterioration, progression-free survival, safety, and tumour response.

The alliance of Roche, OSI and Genentech will work with the NCIC CTG to submit data from this phase III trial for presentation at the upcoming 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in New Orleans from June 5 8.

About Tarceva
Tarceva is a small molecule designed to target the human epidermal growth factor receptor 1 (HER1) pathway, which is one of the factors critical to cell growth in many cancers. HER1, also known as EGFR, is a key component of the HER signalling pathway, which plays a role in the formation and growth of numerous cancers. Tarceva is designed to inhibit the tyrosine kinase activity of the HER1 signalling pathway inside the cell, which may block tumour cell growth. Results of a phase III trial of Tarceva in pancreatic cancer are expected in the second half of 2004. Early-stage trials of Tarceva are being conducted in other solid tumours, such as ovarian, colorectal, head and neck, renal cell carcinoma, glioma and gastrointestinal cancers.

About Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 1.2 million cases worldwide of lung and bronchial cancer each year, causing approximately 1.1 million deaths annually. Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common form of the disease and accounts for almost 80 percent of all lung cancer.

Roche in Oncology
Within the last five years the Roche Group has become the world’s leading provider of anti-cancer treatments, supportive care products and diagnostics. Its oncology business includes an unprecedented four marketed products with survival benefit: Herceptin, MabThera, Xeloda and Avastin which has been launched in the US recently, treat a range of malignancies such as breast cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and colorectal cancer. Other key products include NeoRecormon (anaemia in various cancer settings), Bondronat (prevention of skeletal events in breast cancer and bone metastases patients, hypercalcemia of malignancy), Kytril (chemotherapy and radiotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting) and Roferon-A (leukaemia, Kaposi's sarcoma, malignant melanoma, renal cell carcinoma). Roche’s cancer medicines generated sales of more than 6 billion Swiss francs in 2003.

Roche is developing new tests which will have a significant impact on disease management for cancer patients in the future. With a broad portfolio of tumour markers for prostate, colorectal, liver, ovarian, breast, stomach, pancreas and lung cancer, as well as a range of molecular oncology tests, we will continue to be the leaders in providing cancer focused treatments and diagnostics.

Roche Oncology has four research sites (two in the US, Germany and Japan) and four Headquarter Development sites (two in the US, UK and Switzerland).

About the Companies
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world’s leading innovation-driven healthcare groups. Its core businesses are pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is number one in the global diagnostics market, the leading supplier of pharmaceuticals for cancer and a leader in virology and transplantation. As a supplier of products and services for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people’s health and quality of life. Roche employs roughly 65,000 people in 150 countries. The Group has alliances and R&D agreements with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai.

Genentech is a leading biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercialises biotherapeutics for significant unmet medical needs. Eighteen of the currently approved biotechnology products originated from, or are based on, Genentech science. Genentech manufactures and commercialises 13 biotechnology products in the United States. The company has headquarters in South San Francisco, California, and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DNA.

OSI Pharmaceuticals is a leading biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialisation of high-quality, next-generation oncology products that both extend life and improve the quality of life for cancer patients worldwide. OSI has a balanced pipeline of oncology drug candidates that includes both novel mechanism-based, gene-targeted therapies focused in the areas of signal transduction and apoptosis and next-generation cytotoxic chemotherapy agents. OSI has a commercial presence in the U.S. oncology market where it exclusively markets Novantrone (mitoxantrone concentrate for injection) for approved oncology indications and Gelclair for the relief of pain associated with oral mucositis.

Scientists are hailing the news about Tarceva, announced at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in New Orleans, as an important advance in cancer therapy.

But in an international clinical trial of more than 700 patients, scientists found that those who took Tarceva survived an average of 6.7 months, while those who received a placebo lived 4.7 months, according to the study, presented by Frances A. Shepherd, a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either Tarceva or a sugar pill, and neither patients nor their doctors knew who was getting the real drug.

Patients in the study had cancers that were advancing in spite of being treated with one or two rounds of chemotherapy. The outlook for these patients was grave, Shepherd said at a press conference.

At the end of one year, however, about 30% of those taking Tarceva were still alive, compared to about 20% of those receiving no treatment.

For patients at this stage of the disease, with little hope from conventional chemotherapy, those are impressive results, said Shepherd, whose trial was led by the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group and included doctors from several countries.

Drugs that prolong survival in patients this sick are relatively rare, said Roy Herbst, chief of thoracic medical oncology at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who has used Tarceva in studies. More often, new drugs are found to be about as good as the old ones, with somewhat fewer side effects.

"This is just tremendous," said Herbst, who has worked with Tarceva — which has not yet been approved — in studies.

Tarceva also gave patients better quality of life, Shepherd said. Their symptoms — cough, pain and shortness of breath — deteriorated more slowly than those who did not get the drug, she said.

"Not only did our patients live longer, but I like to say that they lived better," Shepherd said. "They now have an option that will prolong their lives, improve their symptoms and do it with very little toxicity."

Tarceva, like other new therapies that target specific enzymes within tumor cells, causes fewer serious side effects than traditional chemotherapy, which uses toxic doses to kill growing cells and often causes hair loss, nausea, fatigue and mouth sores. Tarceva — a pill taken once a day — is easier to administer than most chemotherapy, which is typically given in intravenous infusions that can take hours.

In this trial, Tarceva's major side effects were a rash and diarrhea, according to the study. About 12% of patients developed a rash severe enough to reduce their dose of medicine. About 5% of patients taking Tarceva stopped taking it because of side effects, compared to 2% of patients taking placebos

NHS bar on lung cancer treatment

Denied drug claim - Tarceva cancer drug

Lawyers for Linda Gordon (47) who is dying of lung cancer have today issued proceedings to take her Primary Care Trust (PCT) to the High Court in a bid for her to get the cancer drug, Tarceva, which her doctor has prescribed for her.

Ms Gordon, who has two daughters Charlie (28) and Jody (20), has been forced to fund an initial dose of this drug herself as she has been refused funding by Bromley PCT. A life-long non-smoker, Ms Gordon was described by her consultant oncologist, Dr Prendiville, as 'absolutely the ideal patient to be treated with this agent [Tarceva or Erlotinib]'

An independent report by Dr Jeremy Steele a consultant thoracic oncologist has confirmed that Ms Gordon is the ideal patient for the drug which could extend her life for up to 18 months.

Dr Steele states in the report that a number of factors including being female, young, fit and a non-smoker place Ms Gordon in a small minority of lung cancer patients who are likely to benefit most strongly from the treatment. Large-scale clinical trials and case studies have shown that for those who respond well to the treatment it can have outstanding results in terms of fighting the progression of the disease and significantly reducing the pain and other symptoms suffered by patients in the advanced stages of lung cancer.

Ms Gordon says that already the few weeks of the tablets that she has been able to afford have made an incredible difference to her symptoms and given her a new lease of life. She believes that this shows the treatment is acting to shrink the tumours, as has been the case for other patients treated with the drug.

Legal action for right to denied Tarceva cancer drug

The law firm Irwin Mitchell who represents Ms Gordon and which also successfully fought for Ann Marie Rogers to receive the drug Herceptin, has highlighted the fact that it is not only the provision of the drug that varies dependent on where you live in the UK, but also the price charged by the PCT for those forced to fund it themselves.

One of the other patients fighting for Tarceva, who sadly died last month having just won the right to receive the drug, Paul Bould, was charged only £1500 for a month's treatment. Mrs Gordon has managed to pay for the drug, for a month, at a cost of £2100.

However this cost was achieved after much negotiation as Ms Gordon had to 'haggle' the price down from the original quoted amount of £3400. Ms Gordon is now unable to pay for any more of the tablets and is therefore taking her fight to the High Court to force the PCT to continue to pay for the treatment her consultant has recommended.

The Irwin Mitchell lawyer representing Ms Gordon, Kate Fletcher, said: "It would seem that the cost of this drug is arbitrary, and varies depending on where you live and your ability to negotiate. We would ask both the Department of Health and the drug firms to justify the costs of these drugs and how their pricing mechanism works."

Ms Fletcher added "To prevent Ms Gordon having to fund any more treatments, and ensure she gets the drug her doctor has prescribed for her, we are now issuing proceedings against the decision by the PCT to deny Linda this drug. We will be starting a judicial review against this decision and hope that doctors are recognised as being the best people to treat patients"

A TERMINAL cancer sufferer has won the first round in her fight to get funding for life-prolonging drugs.

Linda Gordon was told she may have only nine months to live when she was diagnosed with lung cancer 15 months ago.

Despite having been declared an "excellent" candidate for the tumour-shrinking drug Tarceva, by her doctor, Mrs Gordon was refused funding for it by Bromley Primary Care Trust (PCT).

The mother-of-two took her battle to the High Court and was told the grounds for Bromley PCT's refusal of the drug were "flawed".

Mrs Gordon's solicitors at law firm Irwin Mitchell launched proceedings to appeal for a judicial review of the PCT's refusal to fund a month of treatment.

The former pharmaceuticals worker said: "My solicitor tells me it is a victory at this stage."

Bromley Primary Care Trust (PCT) initially refused her application for the tablets, citing "finite resources" and "limited evidence of effectiveness".

Depending on her response to the drug, Mrs Gordon, of Southborough Lane, Bromley, will reapply for further courses of the drug.

An Irwin Mitchell spokesman said: "Effectively the PCT folded by agreeing to the treatment. They agreed to what we asked for so there as no need for the review."

Mrs Gordon was represented by Yogi Amin, who won an appeal allowing breast cancer sufferer Ann Marie Rogers to be treated with the drug Herceptin.

Mr Amin said: "The judge determined there was an arguable case that Bromley PCT's decision to refuse funding was flawed.

"On hearing this, Bromley PCT decided they would fund the next month. We will see how Mrs Gordon's cancer progresses and if we need it for longer than that we will go back to the PCT.

"If they refuse us at a later stage, Mrs Gordon will have no hesitation to take the matter to the High Court.

"It is a victory - the judge argued there were sufficient grounds for a judicial review. We have won this stage of the battle."

A Bromley PCT spokesman said: "We don't agree with the interpretation put on this case by Ms Gordon's solicitors. Their application for a judicial review was refused.

"The High Court has considered the PCT's decision not to fund Tarceva for Ms Gordon and dismissed the claimant's application for judicial review.

"If a fresh request for Tarceva is made by Ms Gordon to fund an individual clinical trial, the PCT has been asked to consider this expressly.

"In the context of the litigation, the PCT has agreed to fund Tarceva for Ms Gordon between August and September 2006."

Chris Bould said brother Paul had made him "profoundly proud" for continuing to battle Morecambe Bay Primary Care Trust for the drug Tarceva, despite his immense pain.
Rather than stay in London where he could receive Tarceva on the NHS, Paul returned to Morecambe to continue his fight so that others in a similar plight could receive the drug.
Last Wednesday Paul won his High Court battle after appealing against the PCT's decision not to pay the £1,500 per month for his medication.
But, tragically, Paul died in the early hours of Thursday (July 20).
Chris said it was a bitter battle and the PCT's unwillingness to pay had made his brother all the more determined to win.
Described by Chris as "stubborn" and with a great sense of humour, Paul wanted his legacy to be that people similarly affected by cancer would be entitled to Tarceva in the Morecambe area.
Although Paul's condition was
terminal, the drug did ease his suffering and could have prolonged his life. He said it stopped him coughing and made it easier to breathe. Up until the court victory Chris had been paying for the treatment, prescribed by Paul's doctor.
Drug
Paul, who lived at Sulby Grove in Bare, appeared on national TV to promote his campaign. His lawyer, Yogi Amin, also helped Ann Marie Rogers to win her fight to receive the breast cancer drug, Herceptin.
Chris, who grew up in Morecambe and is now a freelance producer and director at the BBC in London, said: "Had Paul had Tarceva earlier it would have had more of an effect.
"He wanted the drug by rights. Often those very close to Paul didn't realise he was in abject suffering. I don't know how he did what he did."
Chris was appalled that Morecambe Bay PCT would not sanction the drug: "It was a licensed drug and yet they would not pay for it. Paul couldn't get a straight answer out of them. It was despicable.
"Paul felt that for the sake of others he had to go back to Morecambe. It was a completely selfless act. I'm proud of my brother for many reasons, but I'm ultra proud of him for fighting to the end. He just wanted to make that final point."
Paul went to Sandylands Primary School, Lancaster Road Primary School and Morecambe Grammar School and more recently had a waste tyre disposal business in Lancaster. He leaves a son, Dean, and daughter, Julia, as well as Chris, his brother Martin and sister Carole.
A statement from the PCT said the trust had looked at the evidence relating to Tarceva and said the drug was not a cure. It said it had to make the best use of "finite available funds" and had to prioritise funding.
The PCT said it intends to explain the reasons behind its decision at a full High Court hearing.

Cancer patients claim drug victory

THOUSANDS of lung cancer patients in Scotland are to be given access to the world's first once-a-day pill to treat the disease, after many were denied it on the NHS.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) yesterday approved the drug Tarceva for use by patients with an advanced form of the most common type of lung cancer.

This means health boards will be obliged to fund the drug - which costs £1,700 a month per patient - in patients whose doctors think they will benefit from the treatment.

Campaigners said many patients had been denied the drug by health boards in Scotland and were told the money was not there to pay for it.

The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation said it had received calls from patients and their families desperate to get the drug, which can increase life expectancy by months. But many do not live long enough to see through their appeals and challenges to health boards.

Dr Marianne Nicolson, a leading lung cancer specialist at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, said the SMC's decision to recommend Tarceva was "fantastic news" for doctors and patients. She said Scottish patients were the first in the UK to benefit from the drug, which is unlikely to be reviewed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for use in England and Wales before 2007.

"This drug is not a cure, but it makes a massive difference to a patient's quality of life," she said. "They are likely to feel less breathless, have less of a cough and less pain.

Dr Nicolson said that the drug could also give patients valuable extra months with their families. In some cases, where patients responded well to the treatment, they could live for years rather than months.

And as the drug is in pill form, it can be taken in the comfort of patients' homes rather than them having to spend hours in hospital on a drip.

About 4,500 people are diagnosed with lung cancer in Scotland every year, with rates of the disease much higher than elsewhere in the UK.

Tarceva has been recommended for use in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who have failed to respond to one other chemotherapy treatment.

Drug trials show that 31 per cent of patients taking Tarceva were still alive a year after treatment, compared with 20 per cent of those on a placebo.

Currently, half of lung cancer patients are not offered active treatment for their illness because the options available are not considered to be appropriate or the person was not fit enough to receive it.

Dr Nicolson said the cost of the Tarceva was high, but the effect on patients' quality of life and the benefits of being able to spend longer with their families were immeasurable.

Susan Christie, of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, said the SMC decision should mean that patients are no longer denied access to Tarceva on the NHS.

"A lot of patients have been told by their doctors that there is this drug that could help them, but the health boards say they cannot pay for it," she said.

"A lot of patients have appealed against the decision, have written to their MSP and considered what legal action they could take.

Amjad Hussain, 37, of East Kilbride who has lung cancer, has been taken Tarceva for seven months. He said the drug had made a massive difference to his life, allowing him to spend more time with his wife, Angela, and their children Nadia, three and Haylie, nine.

"After I had been taking the drug for a few months I had a scan and it showed that the tumour had shrunk," Mr Hussain said.

Mr Hussain said it was a massive shock when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in November 2002.

Award for cancer drug campaigner

Jimmy waits on new drug ruling

Jimmy's joy after cancer drug U-turn

Fight for cancer drug 'to worsen'

NICE confirms Tarceva ruling

MONDAY 12 MARCH 2007

A lung cancer patient has said he is "over the moon" after winning an injunction to receive the drug Tarceva.

Tarceva decision

THURSDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2006

NHS bar on lung cancer treatment

Denied drug claim - Tarceva cancer drug

Legal action for right to denied Tarceva cancer drug

Drug victory for cancer patient

Cancer patients claim drug victory