Around 3,500 women a year will benefit from the life-extending drugs Alpelisib and Trodelvy, which have now been given the green light despite being rejected earlier this year by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). Alpelisib, made by Novartis, is used in combination with the hormone therapy Fulvestrant to target the gene that causes fast-growing tumors. The drug, also known as Piqray, when used with Fulvestrant works by blocking the gene’s ability to help cancer cells survive and grow. One study showed that half of the people who received the combination treatment after previous treatments were able to stop their cancer from growing for six months. People with a mutation in the particular gene called PIK3CA will be eligible for treatment if they have explored other treatment options, with an estimated 3,000 benefiting each year. John Stewart, national director of specialist commissioning for NHS England, said the treatments would help thousands of patients live a better quality of life. “This life-extending breast cancer treatment is the 100th to be made fast-track to NHS patients thanks to the Cancer Medicines Fund and will help people with secondary breast cancer live longer.” Meanwhile, Trodelvy, also called Sacituzumab Govitecan and made by Gilead Sciences, has also been approved to treat a type of cancer that cannot be surgically removed. The drug may benefit women with triple negative incurable secondary breast cancer. Triple-negative breast cancer is most common in women under 40 and affects about 15% to 20% of all women with the disease. About 650 patients will have access to Trodelvy. Nice said the goal of the new treatment is to target a protein on the surface of cancer cells that ultimately causes them to die. Clinical trials show that the drug can slow the progression of the disease by several months and extend a person’s life by about five months compared to traditional chemotherapy. Nice said the drug can be considered a treatment option after women have already received “two or more systemic treatments”. Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, said: “The news that Trodelvy is finally recommended by Nice for use on the NHS in England marks an important and much-anticipated milestone for some women living with incurable triple negative secondary breast. Cancer. “Following a devastating interim rejection in April, this landmark decision will deliver a new, effective treatment to these women and give them the vital hope of invaluable extra months to live and do what matters most to them and their loved ones”. Both drugs are to be made available by the NHS in England through the Cancer Medicines Fund. Helen Knight, interim director of drug evaluation at Nice, said: “Both Piqray and Trodelvy are effective additional options that give hope of longer and better quality of life for people with these types of advanced breast cancer. Both represent another step in delaying chemotherapy, allowing people to stay well longer. “We are delighted that the companies that make these medicines have been able to work so constructively with us and NHS England to agree deals which mean we can make both regularly available on the NHS for around 3,450 people with these types of advanced breast cancer ».
