Lower age of cancer drug testing, say oncologists

HUNDREDS of children with cancer are being denied potentially life-saving drugs as minors are excluded from clinical trials, according to oncologists.

Advances in cancer medicine mean it is now possible to look for specific mutations in tumours that predict how well drugs will work, then choose the most effective treatment, avoiding the need for chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

But a study by the Institute of Cancer Research has found that although 50 per cent of children have cancers that would respond to precision medicines, just seven per cent have access to the drugs because they have only been tested on adults.

Researchers said it was “deeply frustrating” that such medicines exist but cannot be used and called for age restrictions for trials to be lowered from 18 to 12. Dr Sally George, consultant paediatric oncologist at the Royal Marsden, and an ICR clinical research fellow, said: “Children deserve the very best cancer treatments so they can live as long as possible and as well as possible. We desperately need better, more intelligently designed treatments

‘Children deserve the very best cancer treatments so they can live as long and as well as possible’

which can give children longer lives with their families and fewer side effects.

“By testing tumours for specific gene mutations we have shown it’s possible to identify smarter, kinder treatment options for children.”

Researchers looked for 91 mutations in tumours from 233 British children, finding that many could benefit from testing, and access to precision drugs.

Around 1,800 children are diagnosed yearly with a solid tumour and the study suggests around 900 of them could benefit from precision medicine.

Dr Mike Hubank, Head of Clinical Genomics at the Royal Marsden said: “We’re failing future generations of children by not testing.”

The NHS has committed to offering every child with cancer a genetic test, but until they are able to access the correct drugs, results are likely to prove fruitless.

The team also showed that testing could be carried out with a simple blood test rather than with an invasive biopsy.

The research was published in the European Journal of Cancer Research.