A DRUG treatment given the go-ahead yesterday could help save the lives of head and neck cancer patients, doctors said. Taxotere, used to treat sufferers from the aggressive cancer, has been recommended for use by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC).

A DRUG treatment given the go-ahead yesterday could help save the lives of head and neck cancer patients, doctors said.

Taxotere, used to treat sufferers from the aggressive cancer, has been recommended for use by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC).

Trials found that patients taking the drug with their regular treatment had a 30% lower mortality than those receiving the standard treatment alone.

Dr Elizabeth Junor, consultant clinical oncologist at Edinburgh's Western General Hospital, said: "Compared with some other tumours, there are fewer treatment options for head and neck cancer.

"We hope SMC approval will result in many more lives being saved across Scotland."

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is the generic term given to 90% of all head and neck cancers.

Around 760 people in the UK are diagnosed with the disease each year. It can affect the mouth, tongue and throat.

Ex-Beatle George Harrison and journalist John Diamond, husband of Nigella Lawson, were victims of the cancer.

Only around 40% of those diagnosed with the condition survive more than five years.

Taxotere is recommended for use in combination with current chemotherapy treatment for patients with inoperable locally advanced head and neck cancer.

A typical course of the combined treatment will cost around £4500, its manufacturers said.