The Cancer Drugs Fund for England has cut 19 life-extending treatments it claims are too expensive after a review in January . Thousands of cancer sufferers will lose out on ‘ last chance ’ drugs after the NHS withdrew approval for their use . The Cancer Drugs Fund for England has cut 19 life-extending treatments it claims are too expensive after a review in January . They include Jevtana , used in prostate cancer , along with Zaltrap , Avastin and Erbitux for bowel cancer . New patients needing these drugs will no longer be able to get them on the NHS without a consultant ’ s special request . But experts say this is doomed to fail and they will effectively only be available privately often costing thousands of pounds . Following appeals , four drugs will be reconsidered and remain available in the meantime . Dr Alison Birtle , consultant clinical oncologist at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust , said the decision to axe Jevtana was a travesty . She said ‘ As a doctor who treats men with advanced prostate cancer , I am deeply saddened and my patients will be devastated . ‘ In my every day experience , Jevtana has given some men with advanced prostate cancer extra time – some of the men that I started to treat with Jevtana three to four years ago are still alive today . ‘ Most importantly this time has been of good quality , allowing them to carry on doing the things they enjoy despite their cancer. ’ The £280million-a-year Cancer Drugs Fund ( CDF ) which began in April 2011 has led to around 55,000 patients in England getting drugs banned on the NHS by Nice , the rationing body , or awaiting approval . The Government 's aim , which was a Tory election pledge , was to enable NHS doctors to prescribe any drug if they believed a cancer patient could benefit . Mark Flannagan , chief executive of the charity Beating Bowel Cancer , said ‘ We need to hold the Government and the Prime Minister to account for what has happened . ‘ He needs to justify why he no longer believes doctors should be able to prescribe the drugs they think will benefit their patients . ‘ If this is not what he believes , then he needs to reverse these cuts until a new system is in place. ’ He said tens of thousands of patients had petitioned David Cameron , urging him to keep his promise made before the last election and to postpone the cuts until a better , fairer system was in place . He said ‘ Cancer treatment shouldn ’ t be about luck . There should be no difference in the access to treatment between a patient diagnosed a couple of weeks ago and one diagnosed tomorrow . ‘ But there will be and we believe this is just the thin end of the wedge with further cost cutting to come . ‘ From yesterday , any patients who faces an unfortunate diagnosis of advanced cancer will no longer be able to benefit from the treatments that have been removed from the CDF . ‘ The argument shouldn ’ t be about politics and economics , but so far this has been an exercise in managing budgets and maximising profits . ‘ It should have been an exercise in what is important to patients and how to improve outcomes for cancer patients. ’ New patients needing these drugs will need a consultant ’ s special request to access the drugs on the NHS . Dr Rob Glynne-Jones , chief medical advisor of Bowel Cancer UK , said Zaltrap was an effective anticancer drug , which can improve the chances of long-term survival . He said ‘ This de-listing decision will significantly restrict patient choice – thus inevitably widening the gap in survival for English patients with colorectal cancer compared with the rest of the world. ’ Hugh Gunn , spokesperson for prostate cancer patients ’ charity TACKLE , said the removal of Jevtana , also known as cabazitaxel was a terrible blow . He said ‘ I am shocked that men in England can not get the same drugs as men in other European countries , especially when we have a Cancer Drugs Fund to supposedly pay for them . ‘ For many men – myself included – cabazitaxel was going to be the next treatment option . In fact , the last treatment option we had left . ‘ At the moment I ’ m well , but in a few months ’ time I might not be ; for the first time in my entire cancer journey I ’ m frightened. ’ Tarja Stenvall , General Manager for Sanofi in the UK , said the company was continuing a ‘ dialogue ’ with NHS England to explore immediate ways of maintaining access to patients for Jevtana . A spokesman for NHS England said ‘ NHS cancer doctors on the CDF panel have taken a careful look at how we ensure he drugs available offer the best clinical benefit , getting the most for patients from every pound . '
The Cancer Drugs Fund for England has cut 19 life-extending treatments . It claims they are too expensive to fund following a review in Sanofi . Patients will now need a consultant to request the drugs specially . But experts say this will effectively mean drugs only available privately .