Breast cancer patients in British Columbia will gain immediate access to a promising drug therapy, through an $8-million funding commitment from the Ministry of Health, Provincial Health Services Authority and BC Cancer Agency.

"B.C. is at the forefront of cancer care and research in this country," said Health Minister George Abbott. "The evidence that Herceptin can give new hope to certain women with breast cancer is compelling. Making the drug available to patients in B.C. is the right thing to do."

In clinical trials, patients treated with Herceptin after completing chemotherapy had their rate of cancer recurrence reduced by more than half, as well as improved survival rates. B.C. is the first province to approve and cover the cost of the drug for all eligible breast cancer patients.

"This is an excellent example of how everyone – agencies, authorities and government – in the health sector can work together to make positive changes quickly," said Wynne Powell, chair of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) board of directors. "Expediting the approval of Herceptin for this type of treatment will clearly benefit British Columbia women."

Eligible women who are currently completing chemotherapy, or who completed chemotherapy after April 1, 2005, will have access to Herceptin immediately through the BC Cancer Agency, a member agency of the PHSA. It is expected about 160 women in B.C. can benefit from the drug each year, at an annual cost of $8 million.

Patients who completed chemotherapy between July 1, 2004 and March 31, 2005 are encouraged to contact their oncologist to determine whether Herceptin would be of benefit based on the clinical evidence available.

"The BC Cancer Agency is a leader in providing access to promising new treatments, one of the reasons B.C. has such good survival rates," said Dr. Susan O'Reilly, the agency's head of systemic therapy. "BC Cancer Agency, PHSA and the ministry came together with a rapid, collaborative response to make this impressive new treatment available quickly. Because early treatment improves survival, the value of this immediate access to a woman with breast cancer is immeasurable."

To be eligible for Herceptin, patients must test positive for HER-2, a protein that makes the cancer more aggressive and difficult to treat. Herceptin slows the growth of cancer cells that make too much HER-2, which occurs in an estimated 15 per cent of breast cancer patients.

Universal testing for HER-2 in all B.C. breast cancer specimens will be implemented as part of the Herceptin program. PHSA laboratories are able to perform this advanced genetic testing through their state-of-the-art capacity in genomics diagnostics, treatment and research. This important and growing area of medicine will be further enhanced in B.C. with the $4.8-million investment for a provincial genomics laboratory announced by the province in December 2004.

A course of Herceptin costs up to $50,000 per patient. Over time, the savings from reduced recurrence are expected to offset the cost of the drug treatment. The overall health care costs in the event of a recurrence of breast cancer is approximately $90,000.

About 1,084 women in B.C. in 2005/06 will receive chemotherapy at the BC Cancer Agency for breast cancer, the most common cancer among Canadian women. B.C. has the highest survival rate in the country: 85 per cent of B.C. women are alive five years after a diagnosis of breast cancer, compared to 82 per cent for the rest of Canada.