�600m cancer drug fund announced

26 October 2010 Last updated at 19:35 ET

Patients in England will benefit from a �600m fund to improve access to cancer drugs over the next three years, the government has confirmed.

The move is to address the UK's poor record of cancer treatment provision compared with the rest of Europe.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said cancer patients were already getting extra treatments thanks to an interim fund of �50m which began in October.

From next April, the first of three annual �200m sums will be available.

Mr Lansley said this would enable NHS doctors to buy drugs for their patients that can extend life or improve its quality.

"This �200m a year funding over three years for cancer drugs is a crucial step forward in addressing the disparity in patients' access to cancer drugs in England compared to other countries.

"My aim is to truly empower patients."

Greater availability

A recent analysis ranked the UK 12th out of 14 developed countries - which included much of Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand - on access to cancer drugs that have come onto the market within the past five years.

Experts said part of the reason was because some of the newer cancer drugs had not been approved by England's drugs regulatory body, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

The extra money should make it easier for doctors to prescribe treatments even if they have not yet been approved by NICE.

Mr Lansley said NICE would continue to appraise most significant new drugs, and would have "an important part to play" in longer-term plans to introduce "value-based pricing" for new medicines.

Hilary Tovey, of Cancer Research UK, said: "This cancer drugs fund could make a real difference for some cancer patients, allowing them to get the treatments they need.

"It's crucial that cancer patients have easy access to the best drugs and that the way this happens is transparent and easy for doctors and patients to understand.

"How this fund operates will be crucial to its success. All patients - wherever they live - must be able to access this fund in a clear and consistent way.

"Its use will need to be carefully monitored, so we can be sure it's being used in the way that benefits patients most."

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Tall men risk testicular cancer

26 October 2010 Last updated at 19:34 ET

Taller men may have a higher risk of getting testicular cancer, say experts in the United States.

After looking at data on more than 10,000 men, researchers found that for every extra two inches or 5cm in height above average, the risk went up by 13%.

But experts stressed the lifetime risk of developing this cancer is low - one in 210 for men in the UK.

So even for men exceeding the average height of British men (5ft 9ins), the risk would remain relatively small.

And the National Cancer Institute researchers still do not understand how increased height raises a man's risk of testicular cancer.

Other factors, like family history, carry more of a risk, they told the British Journal of Cancer.

Fewer than 2,000 new cases of testicular cancer are diagnosed each year in the UK, accounting for just 1% of male cancers.

Height link

The data the US team analysed came from 13 different studies investigating testicular cancer.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Tall men should not be alarmed by this research since fewer than four in 100 testicular lumps are actually cancerous"

End Quote Sara Hiom Cancer Research UK

All of these studies, spanning the last decade, included both figures on the cancer's incidence and height records of the men involved.

Dr Michael Blaise Cook and his team looked at the data to see if cancer risk might tally with height and weight measurements.

They found no link between body weight and the cancer but a trend emerged with height, with taller men at increased risk of testicular cancer.

Sara Hiom, director of health information at Cancer Research UK, said: "Tall men should not be alarmed by this research since fewer than four in 100 testicular lumps are actually cancerous.

"But it is still important for men to be aware of any changes to the size and weight of their testicles and not delay seeing their GP if they are concerned. This is particularly true for young men as the disease is more common with under-35 year olds.

"The outlook for testicular cancer is also one of the best for all cancers - even after the disease has spread, patients can be cured."

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