- New cancer drugs approved
- Hope for lymphoma patients
- Treatments show promising results
Individuals afflicted with an aggressive subtype of blood cancer have been granted renewed optimism with the impending introduction of two novel pharmaceuticals by the National Health Service.
The NHS’s spending watchdog approved loncastuximab tesirine and epcoritamab within two days of each other, providing patients with a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that claims the lives of four out of ten individuals within five years of diagnosis with a vital lifeline.
Approximately 5,500 Britons are diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) each year. The condition arises from an accumulation of dysfunctional lymphocytes, which are immune cells, in the lymph nodes or other anatomical sites. Neck gland enlargement, unexplained weight loss, night sweats, and painless body masses are typical symptoms.
Following the medicines’ approval, NHS physicians are now authorised to administer epcoritamab or loncastuximab tesirine to DLBCL patients whose disease has not responded to a minimum of two prior treatments.
Epcoritamab, marketed as Tepkinly, is administered subcutaneously on a monthly basis. Bispecific antibodies help the body fight cancer by recognising and binding to malignant cells.
According to one study, 39% of patients who received the treatment were cancer-free after only ten months.
Loncastuximab tesirine, on the other hand, is an antibody-drug conjugate administered intravenously that targets proteins present on cancer cell surfaces to deliver chemotherapy to the tumour, thereby facilitating its eradication.
Innovative Therapies Battle Blood Cancer
Dr Dima El-Sharkawi, a consultant haematologist at London’s Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, believes the medicines could provide a cure for one-fifth of those with DLBCL who have failed to respond to other treatments.
The prognosis for these patients, who often pass away within months, is grim. R-CHOP, the standard treatment for DLBCL, consists of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, a cancer treatment that strengthens the immune system and teaches the body to defend against the disease.
Presently, approximately half of DLBCL patients are cured with this approach; the remaining individuals must explore alternative modalities, including a stem cell transplant (previously referred to as a bone marrow transplant).
During this procedure, stem cells are extracted from the bone marrow of the patient or a donor. Bone marrow, spongy substance inside bones, produces immune system red and white blood cells.
Prior to administration to the patient, these are multiplied in a laboratory setting. This mechanism is intended to stop the body from making aberrant white blood cells, which are found in DLBCL.
Patients now have access to CAR-T treatment, which alters immune system cells to attack cancer cells.
However, some patients are too frail to tolerate its adverse effects, which include fever, vomiting, breathing difficulties, and low blood pressure. Additionally, approximately half of the patients who undergo the treatment experience a recurrence of their cancer.
New Treatments Offer Renewed Hope
Dr El-Sharkawi states, “The number of treatment options for DLBCL has exploded.” The effectiveness for each patient is contingent upon one of these medications.
Alexander Gudmestad, 34, was initially diagnosed with ‘devastating’ DLBCL in his native Norway in the spring of 2020. He discovered multiple tumours on his neck.
The filmmaker, who currently resides with his wife, Lottie, in Reigate, Surrey, states, “I assumed it was a cold, but the lumps continued to grow.” Since I had testicular cancer as a child, I was aware of the urgency to visit the doctor.
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Alexander’s medical professionals in Norway initiated R-CHOP therapy with some degree of success; however, the malignancy resurfaced the following year. Despite undergoing additional cycles of treatment, which included stem cell transplantation and chemotherapy, the cancer persisted.
Alexander moved to England in 2022 and obtained NHS-funded CAR-T therapy at the Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust. Later that year, the malignancy returned, and in October, Alexander commenced treatment with epcoritamab.
“We didn’t know if it would work, so I didn’t want to put my hopes on it,” he continues.
Last month, however, a scan unveiled the “extremely good news” that Alexander is now cancer-free, as the treatment is effective.
He adds, “I am ecstatic that it is effective, and I will continue the treatment as long as it continues to be effective.” “That was not the case previously. Now, I can live relatively normally despite the disease and the treatment for as long as it is effective.”
Had I encountered the same circumstances two years ago, all hope would have been lost.
