 Prostate Cancer Treatment To Be Listed On PBS, Australia
Article Date: 05 Sep 2007 - 2:00 PDT
Taxotere® (docetaxel) will be available on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from 1 November 2007 for the treatment of patients with androgen independent (hormone refractory) prostate cancer (AIPC).
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Australian men and the second leading cause of male cancer deaths, after lung cancer. An estimated 18,700 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed in 2006 and more than 2,900 died of prostate cancer in 2005.
About 1,200 additional people will commence Taxotere® to treat AIPC in the first full financial year of listing.
Taxotere® is the only therapy presently in Australia that effectively prolongs survival for men with AIPC. Taxotere® is currently available on the PBS to treat breast cancer, ovarian cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.
The extension to the listing of Taxotere® will add around $86.4 million to PBS and Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme expenditure between 2007-08 and 2010-11.
Fact Sheet: The New Extension To The Listing On The Pbs For Taxotere® For The Treatment Of Prostate Cancer
What is prostate cancer?
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Australian men and the second leading cause of male cancer deaths, after lung cancer. An estimated 18,700 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed in 2006 and more than 2,900 died of prostate cancer in 2005.
Prostate cancer is usually slow growing compared to other cancers and when caught early, it can be cured, usually by surgery or radiotherapy.
A cure for metastatic prostate cancer is unavailable. Treatments for metastatic prostate cancer, which include hormonal therapy and chemotherapy, therefore, are considered palliative. The aims of palliative prostate cancer treatments are, at best, to slow the growth of prostate tumours and relieve the symptoms of the patient, so that males with prostate cancer can have a reasonable quality of life for as long as possible.
Once the disease becomes resistant to hormonal therapies, as is the case in androgen independent (hormone refractory) prostate cancer (AIPC), median life expectancy is reported as only ten to thirteen months and very few patients remain alive beyond two years.
What is Taxotere®
Taxotere® is a powder for intravenous infusion. It is administered as a one-hour infusion every three weeks.
Taxotere® is currently listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for:
-- advanced breast cancer (listed on 1 August 1996);
-- non small cell lung cancer (listed on 1 February 1999);
-- ovarian cancer (listed on 1 February 2000);
-- node positive breast cancer (listed on 1 October 2006); and
-- HER2 positive early breast cancer (listed on 1 October 2006).
Taxotere® is the only therapy which currently exists in Australia that effectively prolongs survival for men with AIPC. According to the pivotal trial data which Sanofi Aventis (the sponsor of Taxotere®) used in its submission, Taxotere® improved average survival time by 3.73 months over the comparator (mitozantrone, a chemotherapy agent).
Who will benefit from this listing?
Patients with AIPC, who satisfy the PBS criteria, will be eligible for treatment with Taxotere®.
Approximately 1,200 new patients will become eligible for treatment with Taxotere® in the first full financial year of listing, increasing to 1,799 by the fourth financial year of listing.
What is the cost of Taxotere?
The cost of Taxotere® is approximately $18,286 for the average treatment per patient.
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