Women with
advanced cervical cancer, the most common cancer afflicting young women, are to get the first officially approved new treatment for a decade.
Trials
show Avastin, which is used in several other cancers, gives women
around four months’ extra life. The drug plus chemotherapy has now been
licensed by European regulators. Patients
will have access via the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) until it is considered
for routine NHS use. It has been available in England via the CDF since March pending licensing.
Avastin,
which is also known as Bevacizumab and widely used in patients with
bowel cancer, is the first new treatment since the chemotherapy drug
topotecan was approved in 2006. Dr
Mary McCormack, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at University College
Hospital, said ‘Cervical cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in
younger women. ‘For
those women with metastatic disease or whose cancer
recurs after surgery/chemo-radiation there are very few treatment
options. It is very welcome indeed that when Avastin is added to
chemotherapy it prolongs survival by approximately four months.
No comments:
Post a Comment