World-first ‘Trojan horse’ therapy to be given on NHS

A “Trojan horse” therapy that sneaks toxic drugs inside cancer cells is made available on the NHS in England in a world first.

He can stop the myelom of blood cancer for almost three times longer than current therapies.

The drug is an advanced form of chemotherapy that strikes cancer with a larger dose, while reducing side effects.

Paul Silvester, one of the first people to obtain it, says that therapy has “changed life” and that he is now placing adventures on the theme of history.

Myelome – also known as multiple myeloma – affects part of the immune system called plasma cell. These are made in the spongy bone marrow in the center of our bones.

Paul, who is 60 years old and Sheffield, was diagnosed almost two years ago after cancer led to broken bones on the back.

He made a bone marrow transplant last year, but relapsed around Christmas. It has since been on the new therapy – called Bellantamab Mafodotin – as part of an early access program at Royal Hallashire Hospital in Sheffield.

In a few weeks, he was in remission.

Other treatments could have let him isolate in his room for months, so Paul says that therapy “absolutely changes life” and “created this opportunity to enjoy” life.

Visiting the Hadrian Wall is the next on the agenda of the Paul history; And he looks forward to one of his daughters graduated later this year.

“Most people say” you look really good “… I have a good normal life,” he told the BBC.

Paul’s therapy – Bellantamab mafodotin – is a fatal chemotherapy medication that has been linked to antibodies, similar to those that the body uses to fight infection.

However, these antibodies have been designed to locate brands outside the plasmocytes.

They therefore go to cancer cells, stick to the surface and are then absorbed. Once inside, they release their toxic payload, to kill cancer.

The therapy is named Trojan Horse Therapy after the siege of the city of Troy in Greek mythology, when a giant wooden horse was used to pass soldiers smuggling in the city.

Myelome cannot be healed, but last year’s clinical trials have shown that Trojan horse therapy has interrupted cancer for three years, against 13 months with current therapies.

Professor Peter Johnson, National Clinical Director of NHS Cancer in England, said that the difference was “who changed life”.

He said to me: “It is a really important development for people with myeloma, because even if we could not cure the disease, giving them time without illness and symptoms is really important.

“We have seen in recent years that the use of antibodies to provide chemotherapy drugs directly in cells can make a large difference for a variety of different types of cancer.”

About 33,000 people live with a myelom in the United Kingdom. The new drug will be used when first -choice therapy fails, so around 1,500 patients per year could benefit.

The decision comes after an examination of the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) concluded that the drug was profitable for the use of the NHS. Great recommendations are normally adopted in England, Wales and Northern Ireland while Scotland has its own process.

Therapy is nicer than other cancer treatments, but is not free from side effects.

Once a cancer cell has been destroyed, the remaining chemotherapy medication will escape in the body. This can cause dry eyes and blurred vision.

The technical name of these drugs is an antibody-drug-marital.

This therapy was developed by GSK in the United Kingdom, the first research taking place in Stevenage and the first clinical trials in London.

Professor Martin Kaiser, team leader in molecular therapy of myeloma at the Institute of Cancer Research, said that these are “very intelligent drugs” and that the difference in side effects compared to other drugs “is really remarkable”.

While myeloma is always considered an incurable cancer, Professor Kaiser says that drugs like this are “an important step towards a functional cure” and he thinks that long-term remission will be “above 50% in the next five years”.

Antibody drugs are being developed for a range of cancers. Limitation is to design an antibody that may target cancer alone. There is one that can target certain types of breast cancer. Research is already held on stomach and intestine cancer.

Shelagh McKinlay, of the UK myeloma charitable, said approval “would transform the lives of thousands” and that it was “fantastic to see the United Kingdom at the forefront of myeloma treatment”.

The Minister of Health, Karin Smyth, said: “This revolutionary therapy puts the NHS at the forefront of cancer innovation.”