Summary of consultation to widen access to cancer medicines and treatments to prevent fungal infections

We expect about 30 people would start this treatment in the first year of funding. 

Breast cancer affects 1 in 9 people over their lifetime and up to 20% have triple negative breast cancer. Māori and Pacific people are more likely to experience worse outcomes from breast cancer compared to other ethnicities. Chemotherapy can be effective in treating this cancer, but often people need more types of treatment.

The Cancer Treatments Advisory Committee (CTAC) recommended this for funding in October 2023. 

The funding is proposed for people with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. We expect about 80 people would start this treatment in the first year of funding. 

People with this specific type of head and neck cancer don’t currently have many effective treatment options. 

The Cancer Treatments Advisory Committee (CTAC) recommended this for funding in April 2022. 

The funding is proposed for people with unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer. We expect about 120 people would start this treatment in the first year of funding.

Around 3,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year and 20% have metastatic disease (where the cancer has spread). Up to 10% of colorectal cancers are dMMR. Chemotherapy is the current treatment when people can’t have surgery, or surgery isn’t enough.

The Cancer Treatments Advisory Committee (CTAC) recommended this for funding in July 2021. 

The funding is proposed for people with advanced urothelial carcinoma. We expect about 120 people would start this treatment in the first year of funding.

Urothelial carcinoma is the most common type of bladder cancer. Around a quarter of people are diagnosed with advanced disease. Māori and Pacific people are less likely to have this type of cancer compared to the wider population. Chemotherapy is the current treatment.

The Cancer Treatments Advisory Committee (CTAC) considered this most recently in October 2023. 

The funding is proposed for people with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma. We expect about 20 people would start this treatment in the first year of funding.

Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system (a part of the immune system). Approximately 100 patients are diagnosed each year and around 80% have good outcomes after chemotherapy.

The Cancer Treatments Advisory Committee (CTAC) recommended this for funding in July 2021. 

The funding is proposed for people with advanced renal cell carcinoma. We expect about 120 people would start this treatment in the first year of funding.

Renal cell carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer and is more common in men. There are no targeted treatment options funded in New Zealand if the current treatment options, sunitinib or pazopanib stop working.

The Cancer Treatments Advisory Committee (CTAC) recommended this for funding in August 2017.

We expect about 400 people would need these treatments in the first year of funding.

The impact of invasive fungal infections has shown an upsurge in recent years. This is due to the higher number of people who are immunocompromised as a result of various diseases or treatments, like people living with cancer. 

The Anti-infective Advisory Committee recommended this for funding in September 2022 and the Cancer Treatments Advisory Committee (CTAC) recommended this for funding in April 2023.