New chemotherapy treatment offers hope

PATIENTS with certain types of aggressive leukaemia could have their lives extended thanks to a new chemotherapy treatment.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended Vyxeos for routine use on the NHS in England and Wales.

It will help people newly diagnosed with therapy-related acute myeloid leukaemia (t-AML) or AML with myelodysplasia-related changes (AML-MRC)1 – two types of secondary AML.

Dr Nigel Russell, Professor of haematology at the Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham, said: “This is the first new chemotherapy in 40 years for adults with specific types of newly diagnosed secondary AML, a particularly aggressive cancer that typically affects older people and has a high mortality rate.

“I am pleased that NICE has recognised the value of this medicine. In time, it is expected to become the standard of care for this specific group of older AML patients.”

Patients diagnosed with t-AML or AML-MRC have a very poor prognosis.

In the UK, the expected number of these high-risk AML cases is 680 per year. Its incidence increases with age and accounts for approximately 25% of all AML cases in the UK.

“A diagnosis of acute myeloid leukaemia can have a huge emotional impact on the lives of patients, as well as their family and friends,” said Zack Pemberton-Whiteley, patient advocacy director at Leukaemia Care.

“We welcome the decision to recommend this treatment for adults with high-risk AML.”