Experimental work into blood cancers like myeloma has produced some “impressive results”, say British researchers, whose trials show seriously ill people going into remission for months and years, according to a leading hospital, and offering hope to millions of sufferers worldwide.
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester said the vast majority of patients have responded positively to treatment, going into remission for months and years, reports The Independent.
At the moment, the trust has around 30 clinical trials in progress for blood cancer, including five for myeloma, a disease that develops from plasma cells in the bone marrow.
Many of the patients in the trials have run out of other treatment options or are down to their last few, making the results even more impressive, said the team.
Dr Emma Searle, consultant haematologist at the Christie, said a raft of new immunotherapy drugs, which are so experimental they do not yet have a name, mean some patients, such as those with myeloma, are seeing their cancer drop to undetectable levels.
“The results for this kind of trial – using drugs that enable the immune system to see and attack the myeloma – are incredibly impressive,” she said.
“Using the drugs on their own, we are seeing responses in more than two-thirds of patients who have no standard treatment options left.
“And when using the drugs in combination… we are seeing responses in more than 90% of patients.”
She said immunotherapy drugs, which are already used in some other cancers, will “absolutely” change the face of treatment for blood cancer.
“These drugs are a huge breakthrough in this type of cancer, allowing patients without standard treatment options to achieve remission, in many cases for months or years.
“When the drugs are used alone they achieve a remission lasting one to two years in most patients. Used in combination with other myeloma drugs, it is likely that responses and the effect on life expectancy will be even longer.”
Searle, who is funded by the Christie charity, said she had not expected the immunotherapy to work so well.
Blood cancer can be hard to control, and patients with myeloma used to survive for three to five years, though the latest data suggest half of patients are still alive after 10 years.
Although some of the new immunotherapies being tested are still only available in clinical trials in Manchester and London, the hope is they will become more widely used around the UK.
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