Doctors said it was a 'huge blow' to women and warned that unless the decision is overturned it will be the eighth consecutive drug for advanced breast cancer to be blocked by the NHS rationing body, Nice.
However, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence draft guidance said Kadcyla was not effective enough to justify the cost.
At £90,000 per patient and giving patients an average of 5.8 extra months of life, it is six times more expensive than drugs normally approved for use on the NHS.
Patients have successfully appealed to the Cancer Drugs Funds on a case by case basis for Kadcyla which works against one in five breast cancers known as HER 2 positive.
Final guidance will be issued later this year.
Dr Caitlin Palframan, Senior Policy Manager at the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer said: "The drug appraisal process in England, and the cost of drugs, must change if prospects for patients are going to improve.
"Drug development and research is moving at a pace that the system can't seem to keep up with.
"Kadcyla is a very impressive drug that has been shown to extend life by up to six months in HER 2-positive secondary breast cancer patients, and with more manageable side effects than alternative drugs."
Professor Paul Ellis, Consultant Oncologist at King's College London said: "Kadcyla represents a significant advance in HER 2-positive breast cancer, so for Nice to issue negative preliminary guidance is a huge blow.
"The drug tackles the disease in a different way to any other breast cancer medicine and provides women with valuable extra time with their families and loved ones – time that you cannot put a price on.
"Not only this, Kadcyla is also much better tolerated by women than current standard treatment options, causing much less in the way of traditional chemotherapy associated side effects. As such, the quality of life of women taking Kadcyla is significantly improved."
Emma Pennery, Clinical Director at the charity Breast Cancer Care said: "It's extremely disappointing news for those living with advanced breast cancer and their families that yet another treatment has not been recommended by Nice.
"Kadcyla can mean those facing limited treatment options live longer and with fewer severe side effects, such as being sick, vastly improving their quality of life."
Sir Andrew Dillon, NICE Chief Executive, said: "We had hoped that Roche would have recognised the challenge the NHS faces in managing the adoption of expensive new treatments by reducing the cost of Kadcyla to the NHS.
"This drug is already being funded through the special Cancer Drugs Fund. Our job is to recommend whether it should transfer into the NHS budget. We are very aware of the importance that people place on life-extending cancer drugs and a decision not to recommend a cancer treatment for routine NHS funding is never taken lightly.
"We apply as much flexibility as we can in approving new treatments, but the reality is that given its price and what it offers to patients, it will displace more health benefit which the NHS could achieve in other ways, than it will offer to patients with breast cancer."
He appealed to the drug manufacturer, Roche, to do more to make it available.
Source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10779390/Breast-cancer-drug-is-too-expensive-for-the-NHS-Nice.html
