THOUSANDS WITH INCURABLE CANCER TO GET FIVE YEARS’ REMISSION THANKS TO PIONEERING TREATMENT

THOUSANDS WITH INCURABLE CANCER TO GET FIVE YEARS’ REMISSION THANKS TO PIONEERING TREATMENT 

Thousands of patients with incurable blood cancer in England and Wales could get a new lease of life thanks to a pioneering treatment shown to keep the disease at bay for five years.  

A ground-breaking treatment, DRD can stop the incurable blood cancer myeloma in its tracks for an average of five years. 

Nearly 4,000 myeloma patients each year are now expected to benefit from this new life-extending treatment on the NHS in England and Wales. 

The treatment combines three drugs – daratumumab (Darzalex®), lenalidomide (Revlimid®) and dexamethasone (DRD) – and is aimed at newly-diagnosed myeloma patients who are not eligible for a stem cell transplant.  

Around two-thirds of newly-diagnosed myeloma patients are ineligible for a transplant.  

This is because they are deemed too frail or elderly to undergo the procedure. 

Currently, only half of myeloma patients survive their disease for five years or more.  

Around a third of myeloma patients survive for ten years or more. 

The news comes two weeks after DRD was approved for patients in Scotland.

Shelagh McKinlay, Director of Research and Advocacy at blood cancer charity 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 an incurable blood cancer which affects 24,000 people across the UK.  

Around 5,900 people are diagnosed with the disease every year in the UK.

It is a relapsing-remitting cancer, meaning that although many patients will experience periods of remission following treatment, the disease will inevitably return.  

Until now, the most common treatment for newly-diagnosed patients ineligible for a transplant has consisted of dexamethasone and lenalidomide. But patients’ average remission following treatment was just three years. 

Clinical trials showed that adding daratumumab to the mix and offering DRD to these patients as soon as they were diagnosed increased their remission time by a further two years, keeping their cancer at bay for a total of five years on average. 

Daratumumab has proven to be a real step change for myeloma treatment.  

Over the past few years, the drug has been introduced earlier and earlier in patients’ treatment pathways with promising results.  

Daratumumab has been available for newly-diagnosed patients eligible for a stem cell transplant across the UK since December 2021. 

But, until now, newly-diagnosed patients ineligible for a transplant had to wait until their cancer had returned to be allowed access to daratumumab.  

While it is incurable, myeloma is treatable in the majority of cases. Treatment is aimed at controlling the disease, relieving the complications and symptoms it causes, and extending and improving patients’ quality of life. 

Prof Graham Jackson, Chief Clinical and Scientific Officer at Myeloma UK, said: “This is fantastic news for patients across the UK. DRD has proven through the MAIA clinical trial to be the most effective anti-myeloma therapy for older, newly-diagnosed patients who are not eligible for a transplant. It represents an important step forward in improving outcomes for older patients.” 

For more information about myeloma or to get in touch with Myeloma UK, go to www.myeloma.org.uk. Myeloma UK runs an Infoline on 0800 980 3332.