HER2+ breast cancer

Thank you for your request dated 29 August 2023 under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) for information relating to HER2+ breast cancer. You requested:

• The number of new patients that were first dispensed approved treatment with trastuzumab emtansine under Special Authority in 2022 and 2023 (if available), reported by month. The definition for new patients would be 'a person who has never had the specified medicine dispensed before'.
• The number of Special Authority approvals for trastuzumab for the treatment of eBC. Reported by individual month in 2022 and 2023 (if available), for each of the following Special Authority criteria:
  • 9 weeks concurrent treatment with adjuvant chemotherapy is planned.
  • 12 months concurrent treatment with adjuvant chemotherapy is planned.
  • 12 months sequential treatment following adjuvant chemotherapy is planned.
  • 12 months treatment with neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy is planned.
  • Other treatment regimen, in association with adjuvant chemotherapy, is planned.

We are pleased to provide you with the information for your request in the excel spreadsheet attached.

Where fewer than 6 people are counted, we have changed the number to "<6" as we believe this is necessary to protect the privacy of these people (section 9(2)(a) of the OIA).

We trust that this information answers your queries. Please note, you have the right to make a complaint to the Ombudsman about our response to your OIA, under section 28(3) of the OIA. Details of how to make a complaint(external link) are on the Ombudsman’s website.

To make information more freely available, we publish selected OIA responses (excluding personal details) on our website. Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about this.