Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason abiraterone is not available for free through the NHS in England.

The National Health Service in England funds abiraterone for eligible NHS patients in line with recommendations published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). It has been recommended by the NICE for the treatment of metastatic hormone-relapsed prostate cancer before chemotherapy is indicated, and for castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer previously treated with a docetaxel-containing regimen.

NHS England is in the process of considering a clinical policy proposal for the use of abiraterone as an off-label treatment option for patients newly diagnosed with high risk, non-metastatic, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, or in whom prostate cancer has relapsed after at least 12 months without treatment. The policy proposal was sent out to stakeholder testing between the 30 November and 14 December 2023, and will now be considered by NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group, who make recommendations on NHS England’s approach to commissioning services, treatments, and technologies, and considers which of these should be prioritised for investment.