Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on the development of a clinical policy relating to the use of abiraterone acetate as a first-line treatment for men with locally advanced high-risk prostate cancer; and when he expects to take a decision.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has developed a policy proposal for abiraterone acetate and prednisolone to be used as a routine commissioning treatment option for high-risk, hormone sensitive, non-metastatic prostate cancer.
In line with NHS England’s service development process, the policy proposal was considered by NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) in May 2024. Work is currently underway to confirm decisions on new treatments, the position will be resolved as soon as possible, and NHS England will update clinicians and patient groups on the outcome.
The CPAG's role is to make recommendations on the relative cost and benefit of different proposals, where they are outside the remit of the NICE, which in this case is because the treatment is an off-label use of abiraterone acetate and prednisolone. The CPAG assigns a priority level to different policies which may be funded through available discretionary funding.