Hope for thousands of breast cancer patients as life-extending drug finally approved

Breast cancer patients have said they are "thrilled" after the health spending watchdog approved a life-extending drug for NHS use.

However, campaigners said that some patients living with incurable breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body have "died waiting" for Enhertu.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) announced it has reversed an earlier decision rejecting the treatment for widespread NHS use in England .

In 2024, it previously stated that the treatment was "not cost effective".

It has now confirmed the drug will be provided "from today" for roughly 1,000 women with HER2-low advanced breast cancer, after a "commercial solution has now been agreed".

The therapy has been available to patients in Scotland for more than two years.

It is the first licensed targeted treatment for patients with HER2-low breast cancer that cannot be removed surgically or that has spread to other parts of the body, also known as metastatic breast cancer.

Clinical trials have found that women with breast cancer who took the drug survived for around two years, compared with 17.5 months for those who had chemotherapy.

Paula Van Santen, who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in July 2022, said that the announcement has given her a “new sense of hope”.

Mother-of-three Ms Van Santen, 51, from Banbury , said: “Today is a day I never thought I’d see.

“After years of waiting and hoping, there aren’t enough words to express how thrilled I am to see Enhertu finally approved for use on the NHS.

“Having access to this life-extending treatment brings a new sense of hope.

“It gives me the chance of seeing my daughter graduate from university, become a grandparent for the first time and simply be a mum to my children for longer as they continue to grow.

“These are life’s simple privileges that many of us take for granted, but which mean everything to me and thousands of others living with incurable metastatic breast cancer. That’s the difference a decision like this can make.”