A recent study published in the Annals of Oncology and carried out by researchers at King’s College, London has claimed that the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) in England has “not delivered meaningful value to patients or society”. Only one in five treatments provided benefit to patients, and prolonged the patient’s life for an average of only 3 months.

The study looked at the 47 treatments that were funded through the CDF up to January 2015.  Of these 47 treatments, only 18% met internationally recognised criteria for being deemed clinically beneficial. The study also concluded that a majority of patients may have suffered as a result of the side effects that the drugs can cause.

The Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Meg Hillier MP, has issued a statement on the study, saying: “As this new study further makes clear, the Fund did not represent meaningful value.  This must serve as a lesson to future Governments seeking to commit public money to projects that, without effective management, are doomed to fail both patients and taxpayers in general.”

This story has been reported in The Guardian, The Telegraph, BBC News, and The Express.

Read the study in Annals of Oncology here