Thousands of men missing out on prostate cancer drug - BBC News

Many thousands of men around the world are missing out on a life-extending prostate cancer drug that's available free in some countries.

Although not a cure, Abiraterone can help stop prostate cancer spreading to other parts of the body.

Recently one drug trial showed that Abiraterone could benefit a larger group of men with earlier stage tumours that hadn't yet started to spread.

The medicine works by lowering testosterone production in the body which can fuel some cancer cell growth. The study showed it could halve the risk of the cancer spreading and significantly reduce the chance of death six years on from diagnosis in that group.

However differences in national health care systems mean that while in some countries men are being given the treatment, many others are missing out.

The UK illustrates this health inequality. In England and Northern Ireland, the state national health service will only provide it for men with very advanced disease, when other treatments have failed. However in the neighbouring UK nations of Scotland and Wales the drug is more widely available.

Fiona Bruce presents BBC News at Six reporting by health editor Hugh Pym.

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