The Rarer Cancers Forum has said that NICE is 'failing to follow the spirit' of guidelines implemented to increase the threshold of drugs for cancer sufferers.
There are many types of rare cancer and sufferers often wear medical alert pendants to identify others to their illness. Each type of cancer does not affect a lot of patients, but together the rarer types account for between a third and a half of cancer cases.
As there are few people suffering from each of these rarer types of cancer, it is difficult for drug companies to research and produce treatments that are cheap.
Up to 16,000 cancer patients have not been given drugs because NICE had not negotiated thoroughly with pharmaceutical companies before deeming drugs too expensive, the Rarer Cancers Forum has said.
Professor Peter Johnson, chief clinician for Cancer Research UK, said: 'We're disappointed that the new end of life criteria agreed with Nice are still not giving patients with less common cancers access to treatments that are routine in other parts of the world.'
There are many types of rare cancer and sufferers often wear medical alert pendants to identify others to their illness. Each type of cancer does not affect a lot of patients, but together the rarer types account for between a third and a half of cancer cases.
As there are few people suffering from each of these rarer types of cancer, it is difficult for drug companies to research and produce treatments that are cheap.
Up to 16,000 cancer patients have not been given drugs because NICE had not negotiated thoroughly with pharmaceutical companies before deeming drugs too expensive, the Rarer Cancers Forum has said.
Professor Peter Johnson, chief clinician for Cancer Research UK, said: 'We're disappointed that the new end of life criteria agreed with Nice are still not giving patients with less common cancers access to treatments that are routine in other parts of the world.'
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