Fresh hope for breast cancer sufferers as increase to Kisqali increased
A drug that can slow the progression of cancer will now be made available to more metastatic breast cancer patients, enabling them to have a better quality of life.
VIC News
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A glimmer of hope has been given to metastatic breast cancer sufferers with a drug that can slow the progression of cancer made available to more people in Australia.
The Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) will today announce a new access program for the drug Kisqali (ribociclib) — which has been shown to improve the quality of life of women and men suffering from the incurable disease.
It works by blocking the effects of enzymes called cyclin dependent kinases (CDK), which chemically signal cancer cells to grow and multiply.
The drug, known as a CDK inhibitor, is widely available in the US but has only been freely accessible to Australian patients who have had no prior treatment — or at a cost of about $5000 a month for other sufferers.
But after years of lobbying pharmaceutical companies, the BCNA has now been given the green light by multinational company Novartis to widen the scope of eligible patients.
It will now include women and men who are in second line treatment who have hormone receptor positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer and qualify for the program.
BCNA chief executive Kirsten Pilatti said because the drug does not have the side effects other treatments can have, it could give patients the priceless time to enjoy with loved ones.
“We know that this access program will mean that people have more options to chose for their treatment,” she said.
“The results have been very good for making or ensuring in some patients that their breast cancer can be made stable – which is really important.
“The quality of life, the side effects — they really matter in this time of someone’s life and it seems we can really keep most symptoms at bay.
“It really means people can be there to take their kids to school or go to family weddings, and really live well during the time they’re taking it.”
The combination treatment is used together with a hormonal anti-cancer injection which is also not subsidised.
The BCNA is now working to get the full treatment approved by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC).
Melbourne woman Tracey Keogh, 54, was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in 2014 and knows just how vital such treatments can be.
She self-funded a similar treatment which used CDK inhibitors and said it was “life saving.”
“It’s all about buying time,” she said.
“I hoped for five (extra) years and I’m nearly at six. And I know it’s because of the continuity of these treatments that provide better quality of life while fighting cancer.”
Ms Keogh said making the treatment available to more breast cancer patients was a “no-brainer.”
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