A liver cancer drug capable of extending life has been controversially rejected for use by UK patients, on the grounds of cost. According to NICE (the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence), at approximately £3,000 per month, Nexavar - which is intended for use in advanced liver cancer patients - is "simply too expensive". The institute's verdict on the drug, though, has been labelled scandalous by charity organisation Macmillan Cancer Support.

Liver Cancer Treatments

Nexavar is pharmaceutical firm Bayer AG's market name for sorafenib - a drug developed for patients with either liver cancer or kidney cancer. In terms of liver cancer treatment, the drug received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval two years ago.

In excess of 3,000 new liver cancer cases are diagnosed in the UK on an annual basis, and in the majority of instances, the outlook for them is poor. Around 80 per cent of patients die within 12 months of being told they have the disease - a figure that rises to a massive 95 per cent four years further down the line.

Liver Cancer Drug

Speaking to the BBC, Cancer Research UK representative Peter Johnson referred to NICE's verdict on the liver cancer drug as "extremely frustrating" given that the effectiveness of Nexavar was undeniable. "There's no alternative treatment and there are no other places for people to go", he said.

"It is expensive, but the only issue is cost and the number of patients affected are quite few - there's probably only six or seven hundred patients a year."

Nexavar: Liver Cancer

The new decision is applicable to liver cancer patients in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. As far as Scotland is concerned, here, Nexavar was rejected for liver cancer use at an earlier date.

"The price being asked by Bayer [AG] is simply too high to justify using NHS money which could be spent on better value cancer treatments", NICE chief executive Andrew Dillon stated.

"It is a scandal that the only licensed drug proven to significantly prolong the lives of people with this devastating disease has been rejected, leaving them with no treatment options", Macmillan's campaigns head, Mike Hobday, countered.

Earlier on in 2009, a government study called on NICE to focus more on drugs capable of extending the lives of patients with potentially fatal conditions. In respect of the ruling on Nexavar, NICE was not dismissing the government's call - the Department of Health stressed - but there were still cost limits to consider.