Blood cancer patients in England are to be offered the first ever ‘take-at-home’ tablet to be approved for treatment, and recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for use from 1 August.
NHS England announced that patients with marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) can be offered the drug – zanubrutinib – where they have not responded well to previous treatments, reports The Independent.
In clinical trials, up to 80% of patients’ cancers responded to treatment with the medication, it added.
At least 470 patients will benefit from the medication, which is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), over the next three years. The tablets are taken twice daily at home and potentially can avoid them experiencing the side effects of intravenous chemotherapy.
Professor Peter Johnson, national clinical director for cancer at NHS England said: “As the first treatment of its kind for this type of blood cancer, zanubrutinib is a great step forward for patients whose disease has progressed during or after other treatments.
“It will give them another treatment option, which can be taken in the comfort of their own homes and help them live more ‘normal’ lives, free from the harsh side effects of chemotherapy.”
Around 2 600 people in the UK are diagnosed each year with marginal zone lymphoma. The main symptom is small painless lumps in lymph nodes, and the disease is often only diagnosed at a more advanced stage.
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