Patients with blood cancer in England first in the world to be offered a “Trojan horse” medication | Cancer
Thousands of patients in England with blood cancer will become the first in the world to offer a pioneering medication of the “Trojan horse” which sneaks inside cancer cells and the wipers.
In the councils published on Friday, the National Institute for the Excellence of Health and Care (Nice) gave the green light to the Mafodotin de Bellantamab, which can stop the advance of multiple myeloma for three times longer than standard treatments.
Targeted therapy, which is given as a infusion every three weeks with other cancer drugs, is a special type of antibody drugs that targets and attaches to cancer cells.
It has been described as a treatment of Trojan horses because it works by being taken in a cancer cell and by triggering a high concentration of a fatal molecule to destroy the cell from the interior.
Professor Peter Johnson, national clinical director of NHS cancer in England, said that the drug was going to change the lives of patients and their families.
“Myeloma is an aggressive type of blood cancer, but we have found a constant improvement in perspectives for patients in recent years, as we have introduced new targeted therapies,” he said.
“I am delighted that patients in England are the first to benefit from this new treatment, which has the potential to maintain cancer at a distance for years, which gives people the chance of a more precious moment with friends and family.”
About 1,500 patients per year in England with multiple myelome, incurable cancer of bone marrow, will benefit from treatment, also known as Blenrep and manufactured by Glaxosmithkline.
Health officials said the drug would be offered to patients whose cancer had progressed or did not respond to another first -line treatment.
Shelagh McKinlay, director of research and advocacy of the Blood Cancer Cancer Myeloma UK, said that it was fantastic to see the NHS become the first health system in the world to deploy the medication.
“We have been working very hard since last year to have this treatment approved and we know that it will transform the lives of thousands of people with myeloma,” she said.
Paul Silvester, 60, of Sheffield, described the impact of the drug as incredible after being diagnosed with a myeloma in 2023. After the first treatment he received to stop his cancer, he received the Mafodotine de Bélantamab through an early access program in the Royal Hallashire hospital.
“I have the impression that this treatment brought the party balloons back to the house. It was incredible-in the first two or three weeks, after the first dose, I was in remission,” he said.
The trials suggest that the treatment, in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone, delays the progression of the disease on average of three years, compared to one year for patients taking the drug commonly used in daratumumab with other treatments.
Helen Knight, Director of Medicines at the Nice evaluation, said: “This recommendation demonstrates our commitment to obtain the best care for patients quickly, while guaranteeing the value of the taxpayer.”
The Minister of Health, Karin Smyth, said: “This revolutionary therapy puts the NHS at the forefront of cancer innovation.
