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Two new breast cancer treatments have been approved for use on the NHS following a new recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
The treatments are expected to benefit more than 3,000 women every year in England, adding to the 80,000 people who have already benefitted from earlier access to a range of cancer drugs in the past five years.
Half of people who received alpelisib with fulvestrant were able to stop the growth of their cancer for six months
One of the treatments combines the once-a-day tablet alpelisib (Piqray) with the hormone therapy fulvestrant to target the gene that causes fast-growing tumours.
One key study showed that in half of people who received alpelisib with fulvestrant after previous treatment, their cancer did not progress for six months.
This treatment, which is manufactured by pharmaceutical company Novartis, is part of a growing number of precision treatments that target a tumour based on mutations in its DNA and that the NHS is rolling out.
Baroness Delyth Morgan, Chief Executive at Breast Cancer Now, said: “It’s absolutely fantastic news that following a provisional rejection in March, alpelisib with fulvestrant has now been recommended by NICE for routine use on the NHS, bringing hope to thousands of patients living with a particular type of incurable secondary breast cancer.
“This will be the first targeted treatment option available for certain patients with a PIK3CA mutation which is estimated to be found in around 30-40% of oestrogen receptor positive, HER2 negative breast cancers. Importantly, clinical evidence suggests that alpelisib with fulvestrant is more effective than the current standard treatment option – everolimus with exemestane – and is another step in delaying chemotherapy for patients, which can be associated with grueling side effects.€
Sacituzumab govitecan increases how long patients live by around five months
Sacituzumab govitecan (Trodelvy) has also been approved for treating locally advanced or metastatic triple negative breast cancer which can’t be removed surgically.
It is used after people have had two or more lines of systemic therapies, at least one of them for locally advanced or metastatic disease which can’t be removed surgically.
Sacituzumab govitecan works by targeting proteins that are present at high levels on the surface of tumour cells. By targeting these proteins, the drug prevents them from multiplying and eventually causes them to die.
Clinical trial evidence shows that sacituzumab govitecan increases how long people have before their disease gets worse by around three months and how long they live by around five months compared with chemotherapy.
NICE has now made positive recommendations in all 15 of its appraisals of breast cancer medicines
Helen Knight, interim director of medicines evaluation at NICE, said: “Both Piqray and Trodelvy are effective additional options that hold out the hope of a longer and a better quality of life for people with these types of advanced breast cancer. And both represent another step-in delaying chemotherapy, allowing people to stay well for longer.
“We are pleased that the companies which make Piqray and Trodelvy have been able to work so constructively with us and NHS England to agree deals which mean we can make both available routinely on the NHS for around 3,450 people with these types of advanced breast cancer.
“NICE has now made positive recommendations in all 15 of its appraisals of breast cancer medicines since March 2018, driving innovation into the hands of clinicians to give better outcomes for thousands of NHS patients.”