Cancer sufferers who could benefit from potentially life-extending drugs are being refused treatment by NHS Suffolk.
The primary care trust (PCT) turned down 14 per cent of patients who made a bid for treatment not yet approved by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) last year.
A total of 41 people appealed to the PCT's Individual Patient Panel for cancer drugs not yet approved by Nice between April 2007 and March 2008.
Six of these were turned down.
The figures were revealed by the Rarer Cancers Forum charity in its report Taking Exception, which was published this week.
Penny Wilson-Webb, chief executive of the charity, said: "It is vital these people get the drugs they need, when they need them.
"It really means death for the people who are refused treatment."
A spokeswoman for NHS Suffolk said there were clinical arrangements in place to consider individual cases for treatments which fell outside normal commissioning policy. These are considered on a case-by-case basis by the Individual Patient Panel.
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