A new drug that has been shown to double survival rates for people suffering from lung cancer will be approved for use in Scotland today. The same drug will remain unavailable to patients in England and Wales.
The Scottish Medicines Consortium has recommended the immunotherapy drug nivolumab, which has the brand name Opdivo, as an option for NHS advanced lung cancer patients.
Doctors have described the decision as a "major turning point" in the treatment of lung cancer in Scotland, where incidence rates of the disease are among the highest in the world.
Said Kenneth Gibson:
"My grandfather died of lung cancer, as have other family members. In fact, I am sure there can be few families in Ayrshire that have not been touched over recent decades by this dreadful disease.
"This decision to approve nivolumab can only be good news for the thousands of people diagnosed with lung cancer in Scotland each year."
