Immunotherapy Cancer Drug

Immunotherapy cancer drug hailed as "game changer."

15:44 10 October 2016

A recent study has claimed that nivolumab, an immunotherapy drug, could be a real “game changer” for patients with advanced and neck cancer. The study showed that more cancer patients taking the drug survived for longer compared with those who were treated with chemotherapy.

 

In a separate study, it was found that when nivolumab is combined with another drug, it shrank tumours in advanced kidney cancer patients.

 

In a trial of more than 350 patients, 36per cent treated with nivolumab were alive after one year compared with 17per cent who received chemotherapy. Patients also experienced fewer side effects from immunotherapy.

 

Prof Kevin Harrington of the Institute of Cancer Research and consultant at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, who led the head and neck cancer trial, said: "This trial found that it (nivolumab) can greatly extend life among a group of patients who have no existing treatment options, without worsening quality of life.

 

"Once it has relapsed or spread, head and neck cancer is extremely difficult to treat. So it's great news that these results indicate we now have a new treatment that can significantly extend life, and I'm keen to see it enter the clinic as soon as possible."

 

Prof Paul Workman, chief executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, said nivolumab was one of a new wave of immunotherapies that were beginning to have an impact across cancer treatment.

 

He added: "We hope regulators can work with the manufacturer to avoid delays in getting this drug to patients who have no effective treatment options left to them."