Lung cancer drug is banned in England because of its cost - but will be available to Scots

Thousands of lung cancer patients are to be denied a life-prolonging drug branded too expensive by the NHS "rationing" watchdog.

But the treatment will continue to be given to Scottish patients.

Guidance being issued to NHS doctors claims Tarceva is not a good use of "scarce resources", by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

But angry campaigners said it was the latest example of medical "apartheid" which means the Health Service is providing dramatically different care on either side of the border.

Private medical insurers such as Bristol-based WPA Provident also pay for Tarceva for lung cancer sufferers which costs around £1,700 a month.

Tarceva is one of a new generation of targeted drugs that attack only cancer cells and are tolerated much better than traditional chemotherapy.

Drug makers Roche is planning to appeal, saying the bill per patient is only around £1,000 more per patient than alternative medication with debilitating side effects that will have to be used instead.

John Melville, Roche's UK pharmaceutical general manager, said: "We used to talk about postcode prescribing.

"This is passport prescribing, where Tarceva is available in all of Western Europe, except England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

"It is unusual for Roche to appeal a decision so vociferously but we are convinced, along with a majority of other countries, that Tarceva is cost-effective

"This negative decision clearly demonstrates a disconnect between the Department of Health's Cancer Reform Strategy, which calls for a world class cancer service, and the reality inflicted on lung cancer patients by NICE."

Apart from Tarceva, there are several other cancer drugs approved in Scotland but denied south of the border.

It is estimated that 2,300 patients with non-small cell lung cancer in England each year could benefit from Tarceva, a once-daily tablet.

Patients get an extra three months of life on average - it increases one-year survival rates by 41 per cent.

Professor Nick Thatcher, professor of medical oncology at the Christie Hospital Manchester, said: "As a clinician I am particularly disappointed in this ruling.

"NICE has undervalued the benefits to a patient and in doing so, has undermined lung cancer specialists' ability to do what's best for those in our care.

"Denying a treatment, with less serious side effects than intravenous chemotherapy, that can be taken at home is at odds with the Cancer Reform Strategy's promises to patients."

Macmillan Cancer Support and the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation both appealed against the decision.

Ciaran Devane, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, said: "We are disappointed that NICE has now ruled against the use of Tarceva for lung cancer patients and that some patients who could benefit from the drug will not now receive it.

"Lung cancer is a devastating disease with few treatment options in its advanced stage.

"Tarceva provides another option and can give some patients extra time which can be extremely valuable to patients and their families."