Cancer experts today called on the government to ensure the NHS provides two new brain tumour treatments that could prolong the lives of hundreds of patients.
In a letter to the health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, 36 oncologists say the NHS treatment watchdog the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) was wrong to reject the chemotherapy treatments.
The cancer specialists believe Nice has not looked carefully enough at evidence that shows the drugs, temozolomide and carmustine, are effective at slowing the progress of an aggressive form of brain cancer called a high grade glioma. The letter calls for the treatments to be offered to all patients who would benefit from them.
Nice's initial guidance on the drugs did not recommend them for use on the NHS. A final decision is expected in August.
Roy Rampling, professor of Neuro-oncology at the Western Infirmary in Glasgow, said Nice was ignoring the latest clinical evidence about the effectiveness of the treatments.
He said: "These treatments are the biggest breakthroughs in treating brain tumours in 30 years and are standard care in many other developed countries. Nice is ignoring the evidence - and the needs of patients who are diagnosed with a rapidly fatal illness.
"Nice simply isn't doing its job properly. Telling patients they have a malignant brain tumour is a difficult thing to do. We now might be in the invidious position of explaining that there are treatments available, but the flawed decision by Nice means their chances of getting them on the NHS are pretty much zero."
The oncologists' call coincides with the launch of a campaign by a consortium of brain tumour charities, including Brain Tumour UK and the International Brain Tumour Alliance, for increased access to the two treatments.
Angela Dickson, a spokeswoman for the consortium, said the current system for approving which treatments were provided on the NHS was "unfair and unacceptable".
A Department of Health spokeswoman said Nice was an independent body and produced clinical and cost-effectiveness guidance about treatments based on the latest available evidence.
