Breast cancer treatment drug set for PBS roll out
The genetically engineered breast cancer drug herceptin will be available on the pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS) from tomorrow.
The Breast Cancer Network has been campaigning for the drug to be subsidised, because it is an effective treatment for an aggressive type of breast cancer but costs at least $50,000 a year.
Westmead Hospital oncologist Dr Nicholas Wilcken says women who have breast cancer now need to be tested, to see if they are eligible for a year’s worth of herceptin treatment at no cost.
“It’s important to realise that we’re talking about a particular type of breast cancer called HER2 positive breast cancer and that’s determined on a test that’s done from the tissue removed at surgery and it’s now a test that will be able to be done routinely in all hospitals in Australia,” he said.
Dr Wilcken says hospitals are now equipped to test breast cancer patients to see if they have the type of cancer herceptin targets.
“HER2 positive breast cancer affects about a fifth of all women with breast cancer,” he said.
“There are around about 12,000 new breast cancers in Australia every year, so we’re talking about more than 2,000 Australian women every year.”