'Game-changing' therapy could help save lives of Brits diagnosed with cancer

22 September 2023 , 15:14

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Cancer patients will have access to a 'game-changing' new therapy (Stock photo) (Image: Getty Images)

A "game-changing" new therapy could help save the lives of thousands of people around the country who are diagnosed with incurable blood cancer.

Around 6,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with myeloma every year. This type of cancer occurs in the bone marrow and can cause a range of symptoms such as fatigue and bone pain. Currently, one of the treatments for myeloma is high-dose chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant using a patient's own cells.

But for two-thirds of patients, especially those whose health is poor, those who are frail or elderly, this treatment is not suitable. Now the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has approved the combination of daratumumab, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone - also known as DRD - as an option for adults with untreated myeloma who cannot undergo a stem cell transplant.

Shelagh McKinlay, Director of Research and Advocacy at blood cancer charity Myeloma UK

Clinical data presented to Nice showed that triple therapy reduced the risk of disease progression and death by 45% compared with using lenalidomide plus dexamethasone. Typical survival without the disease progressing was five years, compared to just under three years in the other group.

Overall survival data further suggested the combined drugs reduced the risk of death by 34% compared to the other group. According to the charity Myeloma UK, up to 4,000 myeloma patients each year could now benefit from the new combination.

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Currently, only half of myeloma patients survive their disease for five years or more, with around a third surviving 10 years or more. Shelagh McKinlay, director of research and advocacy at Myeloma UK, said: “DRD is a game changer that will make a tremendous difference to patients' quality of life, and finally help to close the gap in survival between people who are eligible for a stem cell transplant and those who are not.

“Not only has DRD been shown to nearly double current remission times, but it gets myeloma under control faster. Approximately two-thirds of newly-diagnosed myeloma patients are not eligible for a transplant, and now, at long last, they’ll be able to benefit from a life-extending treatment that could give them five precious years with their loved ones.

“We will continue to campaign to make sure that people living with myeloma get access to the latest, most effective treatments when they need them. And we are committed to working with Nice, NHS England and other key partners towards this goal.

“Until we find a cure, it is vital that all myeloma patients are allowed to live a full life for as long as possible.” Myeloma is a relapsing-remitting cancer, meaning that although many patients will experience periods of remission following treatment, the disease returns.

It is not known exactly what causes myeloma but there is a close link between multiple myeloma and a condition called monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS). The NHS explains MGUS is where there is an excess of protein molecules, called immunoglobulins, in your blood.

This doesn't cause any symptoms and doesn't need treatment. Every year, around one in every 100 people with MGUS go on to develop multiple myeloma and since there is no known way to delay or prevent this, people with MGUS will have regular tests to check for cancer.

Jane Kirby