Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapies (SACT) Common Regimens

About this release

This report by Public Health Scotland (PHS) is the first release on the most commonly used systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) regimens since 2014. A regimen refers to a prescribed course of SACT treatment. Regimen activity includes the yearly and quarterly number of appointments, first cycle day ones, any cycle day ones and patients receiving treatment. The data have been visualised on a dashboard on the PHS website. Common regimens data can help users understand the use of SACT in NHS Scotland and show how prescribing patterns have changed over time.

This publication includes the top ten regimens and drugs given by treatment location, cancer type and trial status. The report is based on treatments that include at least one SACT drug prescribed to patients aged 16 or over on a Chemotherapy Electronic Prescribing and Administration System (CEPAS) in NHS Scotland.

Main points

The number of regimens available for routine use in Scotland increased every year from 308 in 2016 to 472 in 2025.

Number of patients treated

Since 2018, the regimen given to the highest number of patients in a year has been zoledronic acid monotherapy, used as treatment for curable breast cancer. In 2025, 2,677 patients received this treatment.

The most common drug given to patients in a year was carboplatin (either as monotherapy or in combination) since 2023. In 2025, 3,529 patients were treated with carboplatin.

Numbers of appointments

The top ten regimens accounted for a third (32.9%) of all appointments for patients in 2025 in Scotland.

Since 2023, the two regimens where patients had the most appointments have been abiraterone and enzalutamide. Both of these regimens are hormone monotherapy treatments, primarily used to treat prostate cancer. The third most used regimen was paclitaxel monotherapy.

A bar chart showing the ten most commonly used regimens in 2025 by number of appointments. Abiraterone, the regimen with the most appointments (12,371), followed by enzalutamide (12,364) and paclitaxel (9,107). Two drugs appear in more than one regimen in the top 10: paclitaxel is ranked third as a monotherapy and ranked 8th in combination with carboplatin. trastuzumab is ranked 7th in combination with pertuzumab and 9th as a monotherapy.

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Number of appointments for the top ten regimens in 2025

The most commonly given drug to treat cancer by number of appointments since 2021 has been paclitaxel, a drug that is part of two of the top ten regimens.

Background

SACT is the use of drugs that affect the whole body with the aim to destroy cancer cells, stopping them from growing and dividing. SACT drugs have different mechanisms of action in which they affect cancer. Patients are prescribed treatment in regimens that can consist of a single drug (monotherapy) or a combination of drugs. Two drugs (paclitaxel and trastuzumab) are in the top ten regimens, appearing as both monotherapy and in combination. They are also part of regimens that do not appear in the most commonly used treatments. Patients can receive one or more regimens.

SACT regimens are delivered in cycles. A cycle is a repeating element during which one or more drugs are given, usually followed by a rest period, as part of the cycle. Each cycle contains one or more appointments for a patient to attend a hospital to either collect or be administered a drug.

SACT regimens can be given as part of a clinical trial or are routinely available for prescription within NHS Scotland.

The main purpose of CEPAS is to support safe prescribing and administration of SACT for cancer patients. See the SACT pages on the PHS website for more information about SACT and the national SACT dataset.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be August 2026.