Thousands of blood cancer patients could soon benefit from revolutionary ‘anti-cancer antibodies’, which cut the risk of relapse by a quarter and spare patients from the toxic effects of chemotherapy.
The treatment is administered as an injection and uses artificial proteins to hunt for tumours, carry chemotherapy drugs, and destroy them.
It has been described as a ‘Trojan horse’ drug and not only does this effect make it more potent than traditional treatments, but it is far more precise, saving healthy cells from damage.
Experts have hailed the drug, called Polivy, the ‘biggest breakthrough in two decades’ for sufferers of one of the most common types of the disease who do not respond to traditional chemo.
The results of an important trial, published last week, showed that patients receiving the drug were 25% less likely to have their cancer come back after two years.
Thousands of blood cancer patients could soon benefit from revolutionary ‘anti-cancer antibodies’, which cut the risk of relapse by a quarter and spare patients from the toxic effects of chemotherapy
Patients who are healthy for two years will have a very low chance of getting sick again.
Dr Graham Collins, consultant haematologist at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and researcher on the trial, says: ‘This new treatment is the first major step forwards we’ve seen in some time for patients with advanced disease.’
Preliminary trials have shown that the medications, known as antibody-drug combinationates by doctors, can be effective against bladder cancer and reduce deaths by one third.
Current study was conducted on patients suffering from a rare form of cancer, called Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma. It is a common type that affects 5,500 Britons every year.
There are 70 types of lymphoma, and each type refers to a specific type of lymphocyte – blood cell – that malfunctions. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma affects the ability of infection-fighting cells known as B-cells.
NHS patients receive chemotherapy drugs that work for the majority of cancer cases.
However, for about a third of the patients it returns making treatment almost impossible. This new treatment combines Polivy (also known as polatuzumab-vedotin) with several other chemotherapy drugs.
Polivy is a source of antibodies very similar to natural ones that the immune system produces in the face of an intrusion.
These are made to search for specific proteins in cancer cells.
Antibodies contain small amounts of chemotherapy. When they locate the target they attach to themselves and deliver the treatment directly into the tumor.
The technology allows doctors and nurses to target cancer at higher doses, without risk of serious harm to the body. Because antibody-drug combinations are programmed not release chemotherapy until they locate the cancer, they can be used to treat the disease with lower dosages.
Dr Collins said: ‘It is a bit like a Trojan horse, which sneaks into the cancer cell and then destroys it.’
![Results of a landmark trial into use of the drug published last week showed that those on the treatment were 25 per cent less likely than others to see their cancer return after two years. [File image]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/12/25/16/52214997-10344231-image-a-1_1640448061409.jpg)
A landmark study into the use and effects of the drug was published this week. It showed that people on the treatment were 25% less likely to have their cancer return within two years. [File image]
Roche announced last week that results from an 800-patient global study showed the treatment was more effective than conventional chemotherapy. It also had less side effects.
Polivy patients saw a 27% decrease in cancer progression and death rates compared with those who had received traditional chemotherapy. This was over a period of 24 months.
Richard Clarke (78), a former farmer from Oxford, is one of the patients who has already benefited. After experiencing pain in his shoulder, he was finally diagnosed in September 2018.
He had a cancerous tumour in both his right shoulder blade and lower back. After his diagnosis, Dr Collins had him sign up for the Polivy Trial and he began treatment one month later.
Richard was admitted to hospital for an intravenous drug injection.
To strengthen his immune system, he needed to be given two doses of an unrelated medication after completing six sessions.
MRI scans showed that the tumors had been shrinking during treatment. The tumours disappeared after he was done with the treatment. Richard says: ‘I had my last check-up two months ago and I’m still cancer-free.’