The approval by the HSE of a new treatment option for people with breast cancer at high-risk of recurrence, which could reduce the chance of their cancer returning by 30%, has been welcomed as a "significant milestone".
The drug, known as abemaciclib and manufactured by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, will be given to people with high-risk oestrogen-driven breast cancer.
According to oncologists, oestrogen-driven breast cancer is the most common type, making up around 70% of all cases, and in around a quarter of these, there is a high risk of the cancer returning.
The drug will be administered as a tablet and will be given for two years to eligible patients.
It will be available from 1 June.
The Irish Cancer Society welcomes the approval of abemaciclib by the HSE.
In a statement, the charity called for "accelerated access to these life-changing medicines, which give cancer patients hope, better quality of life and better cancer survival".
Breast cancer oncologist at St Vincent's University Hospital Professor Janice Walshe hailed it as a "significant milestone" to enhance treatment options for patients with high risk early breast cancer.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Prof Walshe said the approval was exciting, adding that it has been awaited for two years.
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"It was approved by the European Medicines Agency two years ago and the UK has had it for over a year," Prof Walshe said.
"Ultimately use of this drug makes sense for the patient and the taxpayer," she said, adding that there needs to be a focus on drugs that can reduce relapse rates or cure patients.
"From our point of view, we're just very keen to get access to this for our patients, because ultimately, it's going to reduce the risk of disease relapse which in itself makes sense for the taxpayer.
"Because when we get a disease that is incurable - that is devastating for patients - but also it's very, very expensive because people end up on drugs such as these for a number of years."
Professor Walshe explained the drug targets the main known mechanism of resistance and allows anti-hormone therapy to work better, thus reducing the risk of relapse by 30%.
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The oral drug is given in combination with standard anti-hormonal therapy drugs allowing that therapy to work better.
"This drug is not for everybody," she said however, adding that it accounts for about 70% of breast cancer in Ireland.
Analysis shows a deepening benefit for those patients who receive it, she said, compared to those who stay on standard care therapy.
