Cancer drug to cost $104,000

A breast cancer survivor faces a bill of more than $100,000 for a drug to reduce the chances of the disease returning and is urging health authorities to fully fund it for more women.

Carol Mitchison of Gisborne found a lump in her left breast in February and after a mastectomy went through months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Now her oncologist has recommended Herceptin, saying it will boost her chances against the cancer recurring by an extra 15 to 16 per cent. But it will cost about $104,000 for a year's treatment.

"I feel shattered. It's a lot of money and I'm not particularly financial. I have a teenage daughter. It's quite frightening," the 50-year-old said.

"Of course I want to increase my chances, who wouldn't. And to think in possibly 12 to 18 months it will probably be free."

Herceptin was hailed this year as a monumental aid in the fight against an aggressive form of breast cancer, known as HER2 positive.

Results from the first stage of clinical trials in women with early breast cancer found it reduced the risk of the cancer returning by 46 per cent.

But Herceptin, a humanised antibody designed to block the HER2 protein, is at present funded only for women with advanced breast cancer.

Drug company Roche hopes to make Herceptin available to women with early stage HER2 positive breast cancer and is working with Pharmac to ensure quick assessment for funding.

Roche Products sales and marketing director Stuart Knight said the company was also working with Medsafe, the Government's drug regulation agency, to extend the present licence.

The company expected interim data from the trial this month and would make a submission to Medsafe early next year.

A Pharmac spokesman said the drug could then be considered for subsidy.

Mr Knight said if approved, expanded use of Herceptin would cost an extra $25 million to $30 million.

Ms Mitchison has been researching the cost of Herceptin in Australia - "I think it's a bit cheaper" - and has a supportive family who will try to help pay for the treatment.

But she questioned what other people without that support were meant to do.

Breast cancer

* Each year about 2200 New Zealand women develop breast cancer and 640 die from it.

* Up to 30 per cent of breast cancer patients have an aggressive cancer known as HER2 positive.

* Herceptin, a drug found to reduce the chance of the cancer recurring, is funded only for women with advanced HER2 positive cancer.