Image source, Giles TurnerImage caption, Giles Turner paid privately to access abiraterone and was part of the campaign to get it approved in EnglandByHugh Pym, Health editor and Ian AtkinsonPublished16 January 2026 A life-extending prostate cancer drug is to be made available to thousands of men in England in a matter of weeks, after a campaign by a patient and a charity. Abiraterone has been provided on the NHS in Scotland and Wales since 2023 but not in England and Northern Ireland, except in the most severe cases. The drug is already prescribed for patients in the UK with very advanced prostate cancer that has spread. But from now on the drug will be available on the NHS in England to high-risk patients whose cancer has not yet metastasised – potentially saving hundreds of lives. Amy Rylance, assistant director of health improvement at charity Prostate Cancer UK, said the decision was "a momentous, life-saving victory for the thousands of men whose lives will now be saved".
Published: January 16, 2026 6:00 pm
Source: BBC — Read original