A life-changing drug for women with breast cancer has been made available on the NHS in Scotland.

Perjeta, the brand name for pertuzumab, can extend the life of patients with an advanced form of the disease by almost 16 months compared to other treatments.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium, which had three times rejected making the drug available on the NHS, has now agreed it can be given to patients with HER2-positive breast cancer that has returned to the breast but is inoperable, or when it has spread to other parts of the body.

More than 12,000 people had signed a petition from the Breast Cancer Now charity calling for the treatment to be made available to women in Scotland.

The petition was launched after an SMC decision in June 2017 when it said the drug was "very expensive" and may not be "good use of limited NHS resources".

SMC said the decision to make it available came after the consortium heard from doctors and patients as part of its Pace process, which considers medicines used to treat very rare conditions or for patients reaching the end of life.

Dr Alan MacDonald, SMC chairman, said: "We know from the testimonies given through our Pace process how devastating this condition is for patients and their families and we hope this decision, which offers the opportunity of extra time when the patient feels well, will be welcomed by them."

Health secretary Jeane Freeman welcomed the announcement, saying: "This decision could extend the lives of women with incurable cancer and make a real difference to their families."

She noted that the decision came after Perjeta was approved in December for women with early stage breast cancer and as a result "even more women will be able to benefit from this treatment".

Ashleigh Simpson, policy and campaigns manager for Scotland at Breast Cancer Now, said: "Perjeta is a truly life-changing drug and this decision will have a profound and far-reaching impact for so many Scottish women and their families.

"The benefits of this drug are extraordinary, offering women with incurable secondary breast cancer over four and a half years to live on average - nearly 16 precious extra months with their loved ones compared to existing treatments."

Gregor McNie, Cancer Research UK's head of external affairs in Scotland, added: "It's been a long road to get to this point and this decision is truly fantastic news for patients and their loved ones affected.

Richard Erwin, general manager for the drug's manufacturer Roche, said: "We're very pleased that Perjeta will now be available to metastatic breast cancer patients in Scotland."