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Nobody wants any kind of cancer. But there are some that you would probably choose not to defeat others.
Let's take pancreatic cancer: at an early, asymptomatic stage, most people are only diagnosed when they are rushed to hospital for emergency medicine and their disease is advanced – and one person out of four will die within a month.
Statistics, of course, hide people. A friend told me, still clearly 20 years later, that her mother was living just 12 days after the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
Lung cancer is similarly lamentable. Although often linked to smoking, it is now seen in a growing number of people who have never smoked.
There was positive news for patients with the most difficult cancers to treat after the American Society for Clinical Oncology. Dr. Harold Burstein, oncologist, of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, said: "We are in a golden age of cancer treatment" (image image)
Like the pancreas, most patients with lung cancer are considered incurable and have died during the year. But incredibly, there is new hope for even those darkest cases.
Last week, the world's leading brains converged at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology to share the latest findings.
They are the result of years, sometimes decades, of painstaking research involving thousands of patients. And they count.
The impact of the ads is profound: it changes the way patients are treated almost instantly.
Studies show drug watchdogs who prescribe medication what is the likelihood that a treatment will work, and therefore whether to offer it.
This year, there has been extremely positive news for some of the most difficult cancer patients to treat.
So much so that Dr. Harold Burstein, oncologist, of the famous Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, said, "We are in a golden age of cancer treatment.
The words I heard over and over again at the conference were "amazing", "remarkable", "really incredible".
Innovative studies on new immunotherapy drugs help patients live longer and healthier thanks to a tablet that stops tumor growth (image in stock)
Take Gary Middleton, a professor at the University of Birmingham, who led innovative studies on a new immunotherapy drug, pembrolizumab.
Last night, he said to me, "One of the first patients we treated with this drug in 2013 had lung cancer so advanced that we would not have expected it to happen. lasts more than a few months. Today, she is in remission and in excellent shape. We will not know for a few years, but some of these patients could be cured. & # 39;
The best news is that ALL drugs showing remarkable results are available today on the NHS. How will such developments change the treatment of patients in Britain today?
We asked the experts …
HOPE FOR PANCREATIC CANCERS
The treatment of pancreatic cancer has been a breakthrough: it has been proven that some patients live longer and healthier with a pill that stops the growth of the tumor.
Doctors have known for some time that nearly seven percent of pancreatic cancers are caused by a mutation in the BRCA gene – the fault brought on by actress Angelina Jolie – better known for her increased risk of breast and breast cancers. l & # 39; ovary.
The drug olaparib has been shown to be very effective for people who develop breast, ovarian or prostate cancer under BRCA. Research has now shown that it gives hope to patients with BRCA pancreatic cancer.
Inoperable tumor stopped in its tracks
Last February, when a pancreatic cancer was diagnosed at Davi D'Agostino, he had only one year left to live.
Today, 16 months later, she admits to feeling so good: "I often forget that I have cancer".
The analyzes show that the cancer that had spread to his liver has disappeared. And the main tumor is "under house arrest", according to the left, aged 64, who lives in Virginia with her husband David.
It has not increased since last August, when she started taking rucaparib, an experimental PARP inhibitor. The first results of a trial, published in April, revealed that the drug stopped the progression of the disease and narrowed tumors.
Davi's condition was discovered by chance after tests performed following a gynecological examination. "I had no symptoms and I felt good," she recalls.
The tumor was "at the worst possible place", surrounding the blood vessels that feed the pancreas – a leaf-shaped gland located under the liver. It was unusable and advanced.
"I was scared but I am a person who likes to understand a problem. So I started reading and doing research, "she says. Davi has made contact with world-renowned experts at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
They discovered that Davi's tumor was carrying the BRCA mutation, which means that she was eligible for a clinical trial on rucaparib, which is particularly effective in patients with the mutation.
"At first, I felt sick, worse than chemotherapy," says Davi. "But now, my energy is fantastic, I teach art and I like cruises.When this drug stops working, I will find another try.I've got it. I'm ten years old, I'm stubborn like that.
Davi D'Agostino (photo) has been taking a PARP inhibitor, rucaparib, since February 2018 after diagnosing him with pancreatic cancer. Since taking rucaparib in August 2018, the tumor has stopped growing.
At two years, 22% of patients who received olaparib after chemotherapy showed no progression of the disease, compared to 10% of those receiving standard treatment.
Olaparib is a type of medication called PARP inhibitor. They kill cancer by blocking a protein that repairs the cells and on which it rests.
Although, at this stage, the drug only concerns patients with kidney cancer, it is hoped that a larger group could benefit and trials are underway.
Professor Hedy Lee Kindler, Senior Research Scientist at the Medical Center of the University of Chicago, said, "I have a patient who started olaparib two and a half years ago. Every time we scan it to measure its tumor, the cancer decreases and it leads a normal life.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR PATIENTS
Olaparib, brand name Lynparza, is currently approved by the NHS for the treatment of BRCA gynecological cancers and the National Institute for Excellence in Care and Care (NICE) is exploring the possibility of also recommending the drug of 4 £ 000 per month for pancreatic cancer.
Professor Peter Harper, founder of the "Harley Street Leaders in Oncology Care" clinic, said, "These results are extremely important, especially when you think we have not progressed in pancreatic cancer for 20 years ".
Dr. Hendrik-Tobias Arkenau, Medical Director of the Sarah Cannon Research Institute UK, added: "Patients should seek genetic profiling, especially if there is a family history of breast, ovarian cancer. or prostate linked to mutations of the BRCA gene. Consultants should now be able to apply to the Cancer Fund, for olaparib in the treatment of BRCA pancreatic cancer. & # 39;
ADVANCES IN THE COMBAT WITH THE GREATEST KILLER
Lung cancer kills about 100 Britons every day, making it the most common cause of cancer deaths.
The main symptom in its infancy, when it is easier to treat, is a persistent cough. Naturally, people do not rush to the doctor.
But the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, the most common type of disease, allows patients to live longer.
An essay published last week showed that 23% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with pembrolizumab were still alive after five years.
It's amazing when you know that in England and Wales, just five percent of patients survive so long.
It is part of a new class of drugs called checkpoint inhibitors, which help the immune system recognize cancer cells (which it may have trouble doing) and attack them.
These have already been shown to be extremely effective in the treatment of melanoma skin cancer.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR PATIENTS
Pembrolizumab – the brand name Keytruda – costs £ 84,000 per patient per year, but is routinely available on the NHS for lung cancer patients who will benefit, after NHS England has negotiated a deal with MSD manufacturers.
Professor Harper said, "People with an immune trait called PD-L1 in their tumors have been particularly successful with pembrolizumab. Therefore, patients with lung cancer should be screened. The drug may be an alternative to chemotherapy, so maybe better for frail people.
OPTIONS FOR MEN WITH PROSTATE CANCER
A multitude of new drugs – some of which are available on the NHS – improve the survival of thousands of men with prostate cancer. Impressive results have been found with apalutamide (Erleada) and enzalutamide (Xtandi, photo)
The fight against advanced prostate cancer continues with a range of new drugs, some of which are available in the NHS, which improve the survival of thousands of men.
Impressive results have been observed with the drugs apalutamide (also called Erleada) and enzalutamide (Xtandi). They are known as androgen receptor antagonists: they block the activity of testosterone, which feeds many types of prostate cancer.
They are effective when they are used with other hormonal treatments that stop the patient's natural testosterone production.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR PATIENTS
Xtandi costs around £ 3,000 for a month 's supply, but is available on the NHS through the Patient Access System – a program to provide new experimental treatments to eligible patients.
Pr Harper said, "For patients who do not respond well to first-line hormonal treatments, these drugs offer a dramatic second chance.
"NICE will have to decide quite quickly if it should be recommended now in the light of this new evidence. With regard to olaparib, again, genetic testing is essential and consultants can apply to the Cancer Fund or search for a clinical trial on appropriate patients. & # 39;
Will women have a "magic" medicine?
Last week, the MoS revealed the "magic" effect of the new drug that ribociclib exerts on younger women with HER2-negative advanced breast cancer, the most common form of the disease.
Ribociclib (photo) is another new drug that has a "magic" effect on younger women with advanced HER2-negative breast cancer. It targets the specific characteristics of tumors rather than destroying cancerous and healthy cells like chemotherapy
Ribociclib is part of a new class of targeted therapies that act on the specific characteristics of tumors rather than chemotherapy, which destroys cancerous and healthy cells.
In his case, ribociclib blocks an enzyme that helps cancer cells to divide.
The trial found that 70% of women who received ribociclib with other anticancer drugs were still alive after three and a half years, compared with only 46% on placebo.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR PATIENTS
Ribociclib – also known as Kisqali brand – costs £ 35,000 a year, but it is available in the NHS as part of a program of women's access to women with a specific type of cancer breast cancer, depending on the other medications they need.
After all these exciting results at ASCO this year, Dr. Arkenau added, "Patients, regardless of the type of tumor, should ask their doctor if clinical trials are available, but also if tests are recommended. A better understanding of tumor biology is therefore essential. key step towards personalized medicine.
"I'm sure pressure will be put on getting full approval, but in the meantime, there's also the cancer fund.
"Patients should also learn about eligibility for clinical trials conducted in the UK on other PARP inhibitors."
Ribociclib – also known as Kisqali brand – costs £ 35,000 a year, but it is available in the NHS as part of a program of women's access to women with a specific type of cancer breast, depending on the other medications they need (stock image)
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