FINANCIALLY-troubled NHS primary care trusts in Oxfordshire could have to find another £3m to fund the breast cancer drug Herceptin.

Draft guidance on the use of the drug for the treatment of early stage breast cancer was issued earlier this month after a number of court battles.

But sufferers will have to wait until July to find out when the treatment is to be introduced.

Depending on that time scale the drug, that cancer experts believe could save hundreds of lives, will cost Oxfordshire's PCTs anywhere between £1m and £3m this financial year.

The guidance was issued by health watchdog the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) on June 9 and paves the way for the drugs introduction on the NHS.

At present 15 women across the county have requested the treatment that costs about £25,000 per patient.

Dr Stephen Richards, who chairs the Oxfordshire PCTs' joint professional executive committee, said the cost would have a knock-on effect.

He said: "In principle I think it's a good treatment and, therefore, would like to use it appropriately."

But he added: "Other services will have to be affected to enable us to pay for this. We will not receive extra Government funding. That is a very significant problem."

Dr Richards said the PCTs would have a clearer idea on costs when guidance on how the drug is to be phased in is announced.

Speaking at a South West and South East PCTs board meeting in he said: "What we're waiting for still is the ruling on the implementation of the Nice decision and clearly that has an impact. If we have to do it from July 1 that will be very different to having three months."

A statement from Oxfordshire PCTs on the Nice decision said: "The Oxfordshire Priorities Forum, which advises on the clinical and cost effectiveness of treatments, will be looking at the Nice guidance and will make recommendations to the PCTs' Commissioning Board in due course.

"As a result of their policy review, PCTs would then take appropriate action in respect of the cases currently being dealt with and if required, will review any previous requests for this treatment."

The PCTs said they will work with the Thames Valley Cancer Network to implement this guidance within the timeframe recommended by Nice.

Herceptin targets the HER2 protein which can fuel the growth of breast tumours.

About 35,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK each year. Of that figure, 20,000 will be suitable for HER2 testing and about 5,000 could benefit from Herceptin.