Atta single anti-nab-purple alcohol combination approved in the UK for treatment of triple-negative breast cancer

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has approved a new immunotherapy to treat some adults in the UK with triple-negative breast cancerUsing a combination of Atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and abraxane, Tecentriq is the first immunotherapy of its kind to be used for this type of cancerThe final decision was in response to a new data analysis and revised price submission from the company that developed atezolizumab, which was originally rejected by NICE in October last yearEmlyn Samuel, cancer research UK's head of policy development, said the decision was "fantastic news."Samuel added: "For the first time, some people with this type of malignant breast cancer can receive immunotherapy"
new treatment regimen
Atezolizumab's combination chemotherapy drug, nab-yew alcohol, will be a new option for adult patients with triple-negative breast cancer who have spread to other parts of the body while surgery has been ruled outPhoto Source: LRI EM Unit Breast Cancer cell
this method is only available to patients whose tumors tested positive for PD-L1 and did not undergo chemotherapy after the cancer cells spreadAtezolizumab is an immunotherapy called checkpoint inhibitors that increase the chances of immune cells killing tumor cells by preventing PD-L1 from interacting with immune cellsIn the UK, about 2,000 people have triple-negative breast cancer, of whom about 600 are eligible for immunotherapyThis type of breast cancer usually occurs in younger patients and may be more aggressive than other types of breast cancerLife-extending treatmentclinical trial evidence suggests that atezolizumab combined with nab-yew alcohol can extend the patient's progressionless survivalIn clinical trials, patients treated with immunotherapy had a non-progressive survival of 7.5 months, while patients treated with placebo plus nab-yew alcohol had a non-progressive survival period of 5 monthsThe overall survival rate also rose from 15.5 months to 25 months "This has real benefits for patients -- clinical trial evidence suggests that this combination of drugs can give patients more time and may help them live longer," Samuel said Professor Peter Johnson, clinical director of cancer at NHS England, said: "We are delighted to have reached an agreement with NICE to support NICE's recommendation to atezolizumab, which will help hundreds of breast cancer patients and their families - meaning patients with triple-negative breast cancer have better treatment options "
new hope
after the initial decision last October not to recommend the combination, further data analysis and lower prices (agreed by the NHS and the manufacturers of atezolizumab) allowed NICE to offer the treatment in the NHS During the review, the treatment was found to meet the NICE condition and is considered a life-extending treatment, giving NICE extra flexibility in deciding whether to approve the cost-benefit criteria used in a new treatment Samuel said: "Cancer does not stop as a pandemic, patients and clinicians have told NICE that triple-negative breast cancer does require new treatments, so we are pleased that today's decision will give new hope to some people affected by the disease "
NICE's decision is usually adopted in Wales, Northern Ireland and England, so it could affect patients in those three countries Scotland, meanwhile, has an independent procedure to examine which drugs should be included in the NHS References: Immunotherapy for triple-negative cancer cancer approved for NHS in England by Cancer Research UK
Atezolizumab with nab-paclitaxel for the pD positive L1-positive, triple-negative, advanced breast cancer (ID1522) .. id-ta10433/documents
Peter Schmid et al.
Atezolizumab and Nab-Paclitaxel in Advanced Negative-Breast Cancer , New England Journal of Medicine (2018) DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1809615