What has NICE said?
Radium‑223 dichloride (Xofigo) is recommended as a possible treatment for hormone-relapsed prostate cancer in adults who:
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have bone metastases with symptoms but no other metastases and
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have already had docetaxel (an anticancer drug) or who cannot have docetaxel because it is not suitable for them.
If you have hormone-relapsed prostate cancer, and your doctor thinks that radium‑223 dichloride is the right treatment, you should be able to have it on the NHS.
Radium‑223 dichloride should be available on the NHS within 3 months.
If you are not eligible for treatment as described above, you should be able to continue taking radium‑223 dichloride until you and your doctor decide it is the right time to stop.
The condition and the treatment
Prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body is called metastatic prostate cancer. Cancer can spread to the bones, causing symptoms such as pain. It can also spread to the liver, lungs or brain. Hormone‑relapsed prostate cancer is cancer that is no longer responding to the drugs that make the body produce less testosterone, or react to testosterone in a different way.
Radium‑223 dichloride is a treatment, given through an injection into a vein, that carries mild radiation to bone metastases, where it kills cancer cells without affecting normal bone marrow.
NHS Choices may be a good place to find out more.
These organisations can give you advice and support:
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Tackle Prostate Cancer, 0800 035 5302
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Prostate Cancer UK, 0800 074 8383
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PCaSO Prostate Cancer Support Organisation, 0800 035 5302
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Macmillan Cancer Support, 0808 808 0000
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Cancer Research UK Patient Information (previously CancerHelp UK), 0808 800 4040
NICE is not responsible for the quality or accuracy of any information or advice provided by these organisations.
ISBN: 978-1-4731-2093-8