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‘Potentially lifesaving’ new drug to be offered on NHS to hundreds of breast cancer sufferers
Pembrolizumab will be one of just a few treatments that currently exist for triple negative breast cancer.
A groundbreaking new drug has been approved on the NHS, and it could benefit hundreds suffering from one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer.
It’s been revealed this week that NHS bosses have struck a deal with the manufacturers of the drug pembrolizumab, and have now been given the greenlight to treat around 1,600 patients in England who are suffering from triple negative breast cancer – which is one of the rarest and most aggressive forms of the disease.
Triple negative breast cancer accounts for around 15% of all cases, and is responsible for a quarter of all breast cancer deaths.
According to the charity Breast Cancer Now – which promotes cancer research, and offers support to sufferers – triple negative breast cancer is a particularly common form in those under 40, black women, and those who have inherited the BRCA gene.
Triple negative breast cancer patients have a shorter survival time than those with other forms of the disease, and typically, the risk of it returning and spreading to other parts of the body in the first few years after treatment is higher than for other cancer suffers.
But now, scientists say that for those taking the new drug – which is a form of immunotherapy, and will be used alongside chemotherapy before surgery – the likelihood that the cancer will disappear, and the time before cancer returns, will increase.
Pembrolizumab will be one of just a few treatments that currently exist for triple negative breast cancer.
Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, said the rollout of pembrolizumab – which she called “an innovative, potentially life-saving treatment” – was “fantastic news”, and said that it represented “a hugely significant moment for women”.
“It will give hope to those who are diagnosed and prevent the cancer from progressing, allowing people to live normal, healthy lives,” she added.
Breast Cancer Now has also hailed the approval of the new treatment.
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“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,” said Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive of Breast Cancer Now.
“By significantly reducing the likelihood of breast cancer recurring or spreading to other parts of the body where it becomes incurable secondary breast cancer, this treatment brings precious hope of more lives potentially being saved from this devastating disease.”
Featured Image – Kali Nine LLC (via Pink Ribbon Foundation)
News
New endometriosis pill helping hundreds of women with ‘debilitating’ condition to be made available on NHS
Emily Sergeant
A groundbreaking new pill to help women with a ‘debilitating’ condition is set to be made available on the NHS.
The new daily pill for endometriosis – which has been approved for use on the NHS in England by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) – is called linzagolix, and will be available for those who have had previous treatment for endometriosis, working to manage any symptoms they may be experiencing.
Around 1.5 million women in the UK are thought to be currently living with endometriosis.
Endometriosis can cause chronic pain, heavy periods, and extreme tiredness when tissue similar to the womb lining grows elsewhere in the body.
As mentioned, linzagolix will be available specifically for patients whose previous medical or surgical treatments for endometriosis have been unsuccessful, and will be given alongside ‘add-back’ hormone therapy – which involves using low-dose hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to prevent menopause-like symptoms and bone loss.
This is the second take-at-home treatment to be approved to treat endometriosis on the NHS, and it’s thought that more than 1,000 women will benefit.
In clinical trials, linzagolix was shown to be successful in reducing painful periods and non-menstrual pelvic pain, compared with placebo, hence why it has been approved on the NHS by NICE.
“This is welcome news for women with endometriosis who haven’t found relief from previous therapies or surgery,” commented Dr Sue Mann, who is the National Clinical Director in Women’s Health for NHS England.
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“It’s another treatment option which will help women take control of their health and better manage the symptoms of this often painful and debilitating condition.
“This is a testament to our ongoing commitment to improving treatment, care and quality of life for women.”
Featured Image – Heute
News
Wigan woman jailed after hitting pedestrian in Fiat 500 while driving high on nitrous oxide ‘balloons’
Emily Sergeant
A young woman from Wigan has been handed jail time after hitting a pedestrian while driving high on nitrous oxide.
Louisa Tunstall was driving a white Fiat 500 towards the East Lancashire Road in Wigan at around 7pm on Friday 24 May 2024 – a time when traffic conditions were said to be ‘quiet’ – but Tunstall was under the influence of a now-banned drug, nitrous oxide, at the time of the incident, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed.
While driving under the influence, 19-year-old Tunstall veered to the left onto the pavement and collided with a 51-year-old woman pedestrian.
After striking the woman, the car then overturned and, in the process, caused serious life-changing injuries.
When questioned by police, Tunstall stated that she ‘took her eyes off the road’ to retrieve something in the footwell before knowing the car had flipped, but she also confirmed that she had just been out to purchase nitrous oxide to use that evening.
After obtaining witness accounts, investigating officers were able to track down nearby CCTV footable which showed Tunstall inhaling nitrous oxide through a balloon whilst driving, seconds before the collision occurred.
Further investigation by GMP’s Forensic Vehicle Examination Unit examined the Fiat 500 and confirmed that no defects were found on the car to contribute towards the collision.
Still to this day, the victim says she is trying to recover from the injuries sustained to her leg that will prevent her from continuing life as she did before.
“The incident is still very raw when I think about it,” the victim explained in her impact statement released by GMP. “I become upset when I think at everything which has been taken away from me and the ongoing affect it has had and continues to have on my daily life.”
GMP says it’s seeing the use of nitrous oxide being a factor in incidents they attend increasing year on year.
Nitrous oxide, also known as ‘laughing gas’, is reported to produce euphoria, relaxation, dizziness, giggling or laughing fits, impaired judgement, and occasionally dissociation and hallucinations – which GMP says affects reaction time and and is ‘likely lead to impairment’ in driving performance, particularly when faced with an unexpected or hazardous situation.
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Tunstall appeared at Bolton Crown Court this week, and has been sentenced to one year and eight months imprisonment for having possession of a Class C drug, driving under the influence of drugs, and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Alongside being jailed, she was also disqualified from driving for two years and eight months, and has been ordered to take an extended test when she is released.
Featured Image – GMP
