News Story

The Scottish Government is facing calls to address an “unacceptable gap in care”  that exists after a new drug to treat patients with a form of  breast cancer was approved for use on the NHS.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium has now recommended the drug Korserdu also known as elacestrant can be used to treat patients with advanced breast cancer with an ESR1 mutation.

However while the drug has been approved both the pharmaceutical company that manufactures it and  cancer charities raised concerns about a lack of routine testing in Scotland to see if patients could benefit from the treatment.

Sam Dixon, chief executive at Make 2nds Count, a charity for those affected by secondary breast cancer, said: “Right now, some Scottish breast cancer patients are not able to access a medicine that is approved by the NHS because they cannot afford to be tested to see if they are eligible.

“This is an unacceptable gap in care and has to be addressed with the utmost urgency.”

He said that for patients to be told their cancer had progressed and “then not be able to access a medicine that may help because of a process issue” would be a “devastating double blow”.

Campaigners claimed that hundreds of Scots could be tested for the ESR1 mutation each year if testing which has already been rolled out by NHS England was routinely available north of the border.

Calling for this crucial ctDNA genetic testing to be provided, Mr Dixon insisted: “The Scottish Government must now act urgently to remove this uncertainty and confirm how ctDNA testing will be provided.

“The whole community stands ready to support its efforts, but it must happen now. For people living with advanced breast cancer, every day matters.”

With the SMC also approving another new drug for patients with a form of advanced breast cancer, the charity Breast Cancer Now also raised its concerns about testing.

While capivasertib  also known as Truqap was accepted for use by the NHS, having previously been rejected by the medicines body in October 2025, Breast Cancer Now associate director Melanie Sturtevant said: “We’re concerned that patients won’t be able to access these drugs immediately, as the genomic tests that establish if someone is suitable to receive them are not routinely available on the NHS in Scotland.”

She added: “That’s why Breast Cancer Now and other breast cancer charities are calling on the Scottish Government to rapidly implement genomic testing across Scotland, so that no-one is left waiting for the treatment they so desperately need.”

Concerns over a lack of testing were echoed by Caroline Michie, a consultant medical oncologist and honorary clinical senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh.

While she said the SMC’s decision on Korserdu was “very welcome news” she added that “a key challenge is that there is no testing available in Scotland at present to identify which patients may be eligible”.

Ms Michie stated: “We must all work together to find a rapid solution that means no-one misses out.”

Rick Coope, senior vice president at Menarini Stemline, the firm which produces Korserdu, said the SMC approval for the drug “marks a significant moment in the treatment of this challenging form of locally advanced and metastatic breast cancer”.

But he added: “The need for ctDNA testing in breast cancer and beyond has been known for some time.

“Menarini Stemline has raised this issue on multiple occasions and it is therefore very concerning that patients now face this paradoxical situation of having access to a targeted therapy yet lack access to the biomarker test that would determine their eligibility for this treatment.

“What matters most is a resolution and we ask the Scottish Government as well as other leaders to act with urgency on this issue.

“If it does, it will lay the foundations for a new era of cancer testing and personalised care.”

The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.