Interesting peer reviewed research on repurposed drugs not available to NHS patients

Hi Sirius 

Thanks for getting in touch with Macmillan Cancer Support through our Ask An Expert platform. I’m Linda, one of the nurses from our support line.

The medicines repurposing programme was a national initiative to identify medicines and establish new ways of using them. The UK Government made the decision to suspend this service in April this year. This is the information they offer about this decision on their website. This response to a question regarding the suspension of the programme might also be interesting to read.

With regards to fenbendazole at present, there is no strong scientific evidence base to support its use. It has not been proven to be safe for human consumption and no trials have been done on humans. There are concerns the drug may affect liver function in humans. 

Whilst Naltrexone is licenced for specific uses, it is not currently indicated as a treatment for cancer under its licence.

Some doctors may decide to prescribe medications off label or unlicensed. You can read about this here. And, in addition, this guidance from the General Medical Council might be helpful to look at too.

Decisions about how cancers are treated are generally based on recommendations by NICE in the UK, and where appropriate the  Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network in Scotland.

For further information about how decisions are made about treatment in the UK, as this is a devolved matter, you may wish to contact the health team for the specific nation that you are interested in. These are the contact details for each below

NHS England

NHS Scotland

NHS Wales

Dept of Health Northern Ireland   

I hope this information is helpful, and please don’t hesitate to get back in touch if you require any further information or support. 

Best wishes

Linda

You can speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email.  

Ref: LM/ KH