Mother’s joy as cancer drug approved for NHS

The mother of Bradley Lower y has welcomed news that a drug used to treat the young football mascot will be made available on the NHS in England.

G e m m a L o we r y s a i d s h e was “overjoyed” dinutuximab beta has been recommended for use by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) under final draft guidance published yesterday.

The treatment for patients with high-risk neuroblasto - ma, a rare type of cancer that mainly affects children and young people, could increase survival, evidence suggests.

While there is “uncertainty around the long-term clinical benefit” of the drug, Nice said the “potential sur vival gain” offered by its use was “sub - stantial”.

Bradley died last July at the age of six, after first being diag- nosed with neuroblastoma when he was 18 months old.

The Sunderland fan, from Blackhall, Count y Durham, received dinutuximab b eta during clinical trials, which his mother said helped to temporarily clear the cancer.

Mrs Lower y said: “This is a huge step forward in the world of neuroblastoma and takes away so much stress for the families whose children are fighting against it.”