Hope for womb cancer patients who are not responding to chemotherapy as first new treatment for 30 years gets approval
- Hundreds of women with aggressive womb cancer will benefit from the first new treatment for 30 years, the NHS said yesterday
- It announced some patients with advanced endometrial cancer will be offered immunotherapy drug Dostarlimab
- Around 100 women a year who have womb cancer that is not responding to chemotherapy will be able to have the treatment
Hundreds of women with aggressive womb cancer will benefit from the first new treatment for 30 years, the NHS said yesterday.
It announced some patients with advanced endometrial cancer – affecting the lining of the womb – will be offered immunotherapy drug Dostarlimab after it was approved by the health watchdog.
Around 100 women a year who have womb cancer that is not responding to chemotherapy will be able to have the treatment.
Hundreds of women with aggressive womb cancer will benefit from the first new treatment for 30 years, the NHS said yesterday
It stimulates the immune system to kill cancer cells.
The drug will be offered when the cancer has a specific change in DNA – which makes up around one in four womb cancer cases. NHS England’s Professor Stephen Powis called it a ‘significant moment’. Endometrial cancer kills 2,400 Britons a year.
But a trial shows Dostarlimab is successful at shrinking or stabilising tumours in 57 per cent of patients, adding previous months or years to their lives.
The new treatment is given intravenously in a 30-minute session, every three weeks over a 12-week period.
Professor Powis said: ‘This is a significant moment for patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, as this new drug gives real hope to the around 100 patients a year who have had limited success with other treatments, taking just four 30-minute sessions, meaning it is also less invasive.’
Dr Eleanor Jones, from Peaches Womb Cancer Trust, said: ‘Every year, thousands of people across the UK face the crushing reality of a diagnosis of endometrial cancer.
‘For those with advanced cancer, there are still relatively few treatment options that can improve their lives or prognosis.
‘Today’s decision is really welcome news and we hope it is just the beginning of wider progress in the treatment and care of people affected by this devastating cancer.’
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: ‘Our NHS continues to roll out the most innovative treatments from around the world to benefit patients, and this new treatment for endometrial cancer – the first of its kind – will offer hope to hundreds of women.’
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