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Men in England with non-metastatic prostate cancer can be prescribed abiraterone acetate (Zytiga; Janssen Biotech) on the NHS.
In guidance published on 16 January 2026, NHS England said that abiraterone acetate can be prescribed off-label to men with high-risk, hormone sensitive, non-metastatic cancer.
“Around 2,000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the last three months whose cancer has not spread will get access to the treatment if it is of clinical benefit,” it said.
Abiraterone was granted approval by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in October 2025 for metastatic prostate cancer in combination with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and prednisolone or prednisone.
At that time, Amy Rylance, assistant director of health improvement at Prostate Cancer UK, said that whilst the NICE recommendation was a “positive step for men with advanced cancer”, the charity wanted it to be prescribed earlier, for men with high-risk but non-metastatic disease.
Under the new NHS clinical commissioning policy, abiraterone can be offered under the same treatment regimen to men at an earlier, non-metastatic stage. The drug was assessed by the NHS’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group and will be funded through NHS England’s specialised commissioning budget.
Rylance commented on the latest guidance: “This decision is a momentous, life-saving victory for the thousands of men whose lives will now be saved.
“We refused to accept this outcome for men, and we didn’t stop until we changed it.”
John Stewart, national director of specialised commissioning at NHS England, said: “I want to put on record my thanks to Prostate Cancer UK for their collaboration and partnership, supporting the health service to start offering this drug which could make a real difference to the lives of men with this type of prostate cancer.”
The new NHS clinical commissioning policy said: “Abiraterone acetate and prednisolone will be commissioned and funded by NHS England specialised commissioning under existing arrangements for the provision of specialised cancer and chemotherapy services.”
In a statement published alongside the policy, NHS England said: “NHS England has been able to give the green light to the drug for thousands more eligible patients thanks to the health service buying and delivering treatments at better value, following the clinical advice to roll this out last year.”
