Breast cancer wonder drug approved by NHS

New treatments will be offered on the NHS (Image: Getty)Immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab cuts  the chances of the triple-negative type of the disease progressing by almost two-fifths when used with chemotherapy.Clinical trials revealed it also reduced the size of tumours before any operations so less invasive procedures were needed.The treatment – seen as a wonder drug – also slashed the risk of the cancer spreading and becoming incurable after surgery.Around 1,600 patients in England who have few other treatment options will be eligible each year. The drug was approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence after the NHS reached agreement with global manufacturer MSD.NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: ‘This is a hugely significant moment for women.”‘The NHS has struck a deal to roll out a potentially life-saving drug for patients suffering with the most aggressive form of breast cancer that has been very difficult to treat.”‘It is fantastic news for women who are diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. It will give hope and prevent the cancer from progressing, allowing people to live normal lives.’Triple-negative breast cancer affects around 8,000 women each year in the UK.It causes a quarter of all deaths from breast cancer despite accounting for 15 percent to 20 percent of cases.The name refers to the fact that these tumours do not have receptors for the hormones oestrogen or progesterone and a protein called HER2.They do not respond to hormonal therapy drugs or medicines, making them more aggressive, harder to treat and more likely to recur. Pembrolizumab, also known by the brand name Keytruda, is administered via a drip.Doses are needed for about a year – either 200mg every three weeks or 400mg every six weeks. The list price of the drug is £2,630 per 100mg vial – but the NHS has secured a confidential discount.The treatment works by stimulating the body’s immune system to attack the tumour. It targets and blocks a protein on the surface of certain immune cells, which then seek out and destroy the cancerous cells.Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, said: ‘For far too long, patients with this type of breast cancer have faced the frightening reality of limited options.”‘This new treatment can potentially lead to any detectable cancer disappearing by the time of surgery, meaning patients will then possibly face less invasive, breast-conserving surgery.”‘By significantly reducing the likelihood of the cancer recurring or spreading, this treatment brings precious hope of more lives potentially being saved.’Helen Knight, of NICE, said: ‘We have now recommended three new treatments for routine use for triple-negative breast cancer in the NHS since June, helping to address this unmet need – and giving hope of a longer and a better quality of life to thousands of people.’