Group items tagged

The NHS has secured a deal for 'Pembrolizumab' to treat women with triple-negative breast cancer. Up to 1,600 women a year affected by high risk triple-negative breast cancer are set to benefit from the confidential deal struck by the NHS and the Merck Sharp and Dohme's (MSD), manufacturer of Pembrolizumab. Triple-negative breast cancer affects around 8,000 women a year - accounting for 15% of all breast cancer cases. This will be the 25th breast cancer treatment fast-tracked to patients through funding from the Cancer Drugs Fund and the second treatment for triple negative breast cancer to be introduced this year on the NHS. NHS chief executive, Amanda Pritchard, said: "This is a hugely significant moment for women - the NHS has struck a new deal to roll out a potentially life-saving drug for patients suffering with the most aggressive form of breast cancer that has been traditionally very difficult to treat.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended pembrolizumab in combination with chemotherapy (paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel) which is said to benefit people with triple negative breast cancer. Clinical trial evidence shows that, compared with paclitaxel, pembrolizumab combination increases how long people have before their cancer gets worse and how long they live. NICE already recommends atezolizumab in combination with chemotherapy for untreated PD-L1-positive, locally advanced or metastatic, triple-negative breast cancer. Atezolizumab combination is recommended by NICE for people with IC equal to or greater than 1%. "This means that some people who can't have atezolizumab combination could be eligible for pembrolizumab combination," said NICE. NICE's independent appraisal committee also agreed that the pembrolizumab combination meets the higher cost-effectiveness threshold for life-extending treatments for people with a short life expectancy. Given by injection every 3 weeks, pembrolizumab (also called Keytruda and made by Merck Sharp and Dohme) is a type of immunotherapy that specifically targets triple negative breast cancer. It works by blocking the activity of a protein known as PD-L1 which is produced in larger amounts on cancerous cells than normal cells. By blocking PD-L1 it helps the person's own immune cells to attack the cancer.