‘Game changer’ take home blood cancer drug to be offered to hundreds of NHS patients

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Hundreds of blood cancer patients will be able to access a ‘game changer’ drug which will allow them to be treated at home, it has been announced.

The drug is the first ever ‘take-at-home’ tablet to be approved to treat blood cancer patients, according to an announcement from NHS England.

Patients in England with marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) can be offered the drug, called zanubrutinib, where they have not responded well to previous treatments.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended the use of the drug on the NHS from 1 August.

In clinical trials, up to 80 per cent of patients’ cancers responded to treatment with zanubrutinib, according to NHS England.

The organisations said around 470 patients are set to benefit from this drug over the next three years. The tablets are taken twice a day at home and potentially can help patients avoid experiencing the side effects of intravenous chemotherapy.

Professor Peter Johnson, national clinical director for cancer at NHS England said: “As the first treatment of its kind for this type of blood cancer, zanubrutinib is a great step forward for patients whose disease has progressed during or following other treatments.

“This is the latest example of our efforts to improve the lives of those facing cancer and will give patients another treatment option, which can be taken in the comfort of their own homes and help them live more ‘normal’ lives, free from the harsh side-effects of chemotherapy.”

Around 2,600 people diagnosed per year in the UK are diagnosed with marginal zone lymphoma. The main symptom is small painless lumps in lymph nodes, and it is often diagnosed at a more advanced stage.

Zanubrutinib is a type of drug called a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTKi). Bruton’s tyrosine kinase is an enzyme that plays a key role in the survival and proliferation of B cells, including cancerous ones. The drug works by inhibiting this enzyme, and preventing the activation of signalling pathways that promote the growth and division of cancer cells. By blocking these signals, zanubrutinib leads to the death of cancer cells, which may help to stop or slow the progression of the cancer.

Frank Burrows, 66, from North Somerset, who was diagnosed with marginal zone lymphoma six years ago, said: “Having a drug like Zanubrutinib is a game-changer for people with marginal zone lymphoma and I’m delighted that it is now available on the NHS and gives people like me who are facing this cancer a whole new choice.

“The chemotherapy I had could knock the cancer all the way back, but it couldn’t cure it. You can go through chemotherapy two or three times but then your body can’t have any more and there is no further treatment available. It also puts a lot of strain on your immune system, and you can pick up all sorts of illnesses very quickly.”

This story was ammended to correct the description of Zanubrutinib on 14 August and 28 August.