A world-leading treatment that halves the risk of lung cancer
patients suffering a return of the disease after undergoing
treatment, is to be rolled out by NHS England.
In a trial of the drug - the first of its kind - around nine out
of ten patients treated, remained alive and disease-free after
two years – compared to more than four in ten who hadn’t received
the new therapy.
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK,
accounting for one in five of all cancer deaths.
Around 100 patients in England with a rare form of cancer will
initially have access to the drug, called Osimertinib, with many
more expected to benefit this year.
Eligible patients with rare forms of early-stage non-small cell
lung cancer will be offered the drug, which catches the tumour
early, stopping it developing and potentially increasing the
chance of surviving the disease.
Osimertinib is the first treatment for patients with non-small
cell lung cancer whose tumours have a specific type of genetic
mutation, to be licensed for use in patients who have just had
surgery.
Sir Simon Stevens, NHS chief executive, said:
“The NHS has continued to offer new treatments rapidly throughout
the pandemic, to improve care for patients, including a package
of Covid-safe treatments for cancer.
“This new drug, which halves the chance of lung cancer returning,
is the latest potentially life-saving drug deal landed by the NHS
in England, following agreements that have led to sight loss
treatment for children and cystic fibrosis therapy brought to
frontline patient care.
“The NHS message to anyone experiencing symptoms such as a cough
for three weeks or more is clear – do not delay, help us to help
you by coming forward for care – the NHS is ready and able to
treat you, often with the most cutting-edge treatments available
anywhere in the world.”
NHS England, NICE and AstraZeneca have reached an agreement to
enable early access to Osimertinib for early-stage lung cancer
patients in England on a budget-neutral basis to the NHS while
NICE undertakes its appraisal.
The deal follows the first drug licence issued by the MHRA as
part of the Orbis programme – an international partnership
between medicines regulators in the UK, U.S., Australia and
others, set up to speed up the approval process for promising
cancer treatments, and hoped to benefit other patients in England
this year.
Osimertinib was discovered and developed in the UK and is already
used to treat NHS patients with other forms of advanced lung
cancer.
The NHS Long Term Plan committed to increasing the number of
tumours caught at an early stage from half to three in four.
The announcement is the latest in a series of innovations in
cancer care during the pandemic, including Covid-secure surgery
hubs that were set up across the country and £160 million
invested by NHS England in ‘covid-friendly’ cancer drugs, that
treat patients without having such a big impact on their immune
system or offer other benefits such as fewer hospital visits.
Cancer treatment continued during the pandemic with almost
300,000 people starting treatment for cancer and more than 2.2
million were referred for checks.
The NHS is currently running a campaign to encourage people who
have had a cough for three weeks or longer to get checked.
