Lymphoma ‘frozen’ by chemo-free treatment

HUNDREDS of lymphoma patients are to have the first chemotherapy-free treatment for the disease.

Drugs watchdog NICE will today approve NHS use of lenalidomide, which will benefit 900 cancer victims across England.

Trials have shown that it freezes the progress of the disease for at least three years.

Lenalidomide, which costs up to £63,000 per patient, fights follicular lymphoma by halting the growth of tumours and stopping them producing their own blood vessels.

It will be used alongside another drug – rituximab – which sticks to cancer cells to help the immune system recognise and kill them.

Lymphomas are cancers of the lymphatic system, a key part of the body’s immune response. Follicular lymphoma is a slow growing type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It forms when Bcells, the white blood cells that fight infection, mutate.

The average list price for the maximum 12-month course of

‘Prolonging survival’

the combination therapy is £62,595. However the NHS was offered a confidential discount by drug maker Celgene, which was deemed sufficient to take the price below NICE’s costeffectiveness thresholds.

Dr Kim Linton, consultant medical oncologist at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester, said: ‘There are currently limited treatment options for patients who relapse or don’t respond to therapy.

‘This option provides a novel chemotherapy-free alternative and adds an extra line to the treatment pathway with the potential to prolong survival.’

Ropinder Gill, of the Lymphoma Action charity, said: ‘We are delighted that lenalidomide in combination with rituximab will be available for these patients and look forward to the reassurance that additional treatment can bring for this particular lymphoma.’