Revolution: New treatment is effective within five minutes, compared to current 90-minute drug
A new injection for breast cancer patients could dramatically cut the time they spend in hospital and save the NHS millions, say experts.
Sufferers are currently given regular infusions of the drug Herceptin via a drip – an ordeal lasting between 30 and 90 minutes – for just over a year in most cases.
But the jab delivers the substance in only five minutes.
NHS England has approved the speedier method for widespread use from today, which not only frees up time for patients but will increase capacity in hospital chemotherapy suites.
Patients require an average of 18 Herceptin doses – one every three weeks – meaning the jab could spare them up to 25 hours in hospital over the course of their treatment.
Herceptin was the first targeted drug for breast cancer.
It was designed for women with HER2-positive tumours, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease, affecting around one quarter of the 44,000 British women diagnosed with breast cancer each year.
Before the health service rationing body allowed widespread use in 2006, there were high-profile battles by patients to win NHS funding for the drug.
The then health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, ordered a fast-track approval process for Herceptin, which led to it being used up to three years earlier than scheduled.
The new jab heralds another revolution in treatment, say experts, with trial data suggesting it works as well as, or even marginally better than, the time-consuming infusions.
A trial of almost 600 women living with the early stages of HER2-positive breast cancer compared standard infusion with a five-minute injection into the fatty layer of tissue under the skin.
The tumour was completely eliminated in 45 per cent of women who received the injectable form, compared to 41 per cent of women who had the infusion.
The quicker way of delivering Herceptin was authorised for use in the UK by the European Medicines Agency.
It has been endorsed by NHS England, the national commissioning body for treatments, which clears the way for hospitals to adopt it. Scotland and Wales are likely to make similar decisions.
As well as shortening each hospital visit, the jab means the invasive tube, or cannula, used during infusions would no longer need to be inserted every three weeks.
Quality of life improved: Current treatment is gruelling and vigorous. The new jab is hailed as a revolution
A study found nine out of ten patients preferred the injected version of Herceptin versus the intravenous method.
In addition to the advantages to patients, the NHS could profit from savings valued at more than £20million, says manufacturer Roche.
Although the drug costs the same in both forms – £1,200 for each treatment – savings are made in nurses’ time spent preparing and administering the drug for intravenous use.
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Professor Lesley Fallowfield, of the University of Sussex, said: ‘Time is precious to women with breast cancer, far too precious to be waiting around in busy chemotherapy centres.
‘If subcutaneous delivery of Herceptin were to replace intravenous administration in the NHS then patients would spend less time in hospital and more time getting on with their lives. If this method is adopted in the NHS then the quality of life of women with HER2-positive breast cancer could be dramatically improved.’
Dr Mark Verrill, consultant medical oncologist, at Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, said the jab might eventually be adapted for use by women at home.
He said the existing infusion treatment is ‘quite invasive’, adding: ‘We can now give Herceptin by a five-minute subcutaneous injection – it’s much quicker and simpler … As well as the advantage for patients, subcutaneous Herceptin frees capacity on busy chemotherapy day units.
‘It lends itself to administration in the community, resonating with the … drive for treatment closer to home.’
Sally Greenbrook, of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: ‘This is a good example of how research can make improvements to patients’ quality of life as well saving considerable time and money for the NHS.’
Mia Rosenblatt, of Breast Cancer Campaign said the injection had ‘the convenience of patients in mind’ and would ‘save them considerable treatment time’.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2430245/New-breast-cancer-jab-slash-hours-spent-hospital-help-save-NHS-millions.html#ixzz2fpzSgrQQ
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