Lung cancer patients to benefit from new drug on NHS

Thousands of lung cancer patients in England will be fast-tracked a ground-breaking new drug which can significantly reduce the risk of cancer returning.

The MHRA has now approved the effective therapy, atezolizumab, to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with more than 850 patients in England expected to be eligible for the drug in the first year, rising to more than 1000 in the third year.

Atezolizumab is the first immunotherapy approved for patients with early-stage NSCLC whose tumours express the PD-L1 mutation, and who have undergone surgery and chemotherapy. These patients are at risk of their cancer returning, and England is only the second country in Europe to make this cutting-edge treatment available.

Clinical trials have shown atezolizumab can significantly reduce the risk of cancer recurrence or death by 34 per cent in people with early-stage NSCLC, following surgery and chemotherapy.

The first patients will be able to receive treatment in the next few weeks, while the National Institute for Health and Care Excellent completes its ongoing appraisal after an early-access deal was struck by NHS England with the manufacturer, Roche.

Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, said: “I’m delighted that the NHS in England has secured this deal so we can continue to offer patients the best in cutting-edge drugs and state-of-the-art treatments. By making atezolizumab available at the earliest opportunity NHS patients now have a very exciting new treatment which has the potential to dramatically reduce their risk of cancer relapse.

“The NHS has a strong track record of securing rapid access to innovative, trailblazing treatments for our patients, and this is the latest agreement that places a brand new treatment in the hands of frontline NHS staff, supporting them to continue to deliver world-class patient care.

“The NHS Long Term Plan set out an ambition that 55,000 more people will survive their cancer each year, and this treatment is great news for patients whose lung cancer is picked up early by the Targeted Lung Health Checks pilot which is another pioneering initiative spear-headed by the NHS.”