Breast cancer drug Taxotere PBS listed

A chemotherapy drug for women with breast cancer at early stage has been approved for listing PBS, making Australia the first country to grant a subsidy to the national therapy.

Treatment with Taxotere (docetaxel) in combination with cyclophosphamide will be included on the PBS on 1 April, less than a year after the drug has been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

A maximum of four rounds will be subsidized by the government - a regime that will now cost patients between $ 8,000 and $ 9,000.

According to the manufacturer Sanofi-aventis, a phase III trial involving 1016 patients with operable breast cancer at early stage showed that the combination of cyclophosphamide, Taxotere improved survival rates of 81 percent, versus a rate of 75 percent improvement when the patient has taken a doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide combination.

Dr Arlene Chan Oncologist, Mount Hospital in Perth, said the availability of Taxotere combination of cyclophosphamide on the PBS was important because it was a non-chemotherapy with anthracyclines.

"Cardiotoxicity has been recognized as a serious complication of certain chemotherapy such as doxorubicin," said Dr Chan.

"Having an effective chemotherapy treatment that is not associated with heart problems, is an important therapeutic advance, particularly for women with a heart problem behind.

I had docetaxel (6 cycles) with doxorubicin and cyclophosamide under my regime of chemotherapy last year and didn't pay for it ... If PBS is paying for it then. Also curious that the article says it was approved within one year after receiving approval by the Theraputic Goods Administration. I started chemo in January last year and as far as I wasn't aware given the drug under trial

What wonderful news for all women unlucky about to start taxotere but what about women who just paid $ 9,000.00 for this treatment, the government will back the grant? I hope