Of the 2,600 women who are diagnosed with Cervical cancer each year in England, about 400 of them with a advanced form of the disease will now be able to receive a new treatment to extend their duration and quality of life after diagnosis, while it has received the green light from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the equivalent of HAS in France.
Combined with chemotherapy, pembrolizumab administered to women with advanced cervical cancer stimulates their immune system and helps fight cancer by targeting a specific protein to eliminate cancer cells. In women with advanced cervical cancer, would extend life expectancy by an average of eight monthswhile two women die from the disease every day, according to the NHS.
“After 15 years without a new treatment for this type of advanced cervical cancer, this first immunotherapy marks a significant breakthrough that will provide hundreds of people with precious time with loved ones.”said John Stewart, director of specialist commissioning at the NHS.
Already proposed in the treatment of other cancers including bowel, lung, skin and breast cancers, the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab given to women with advanced cancer can slow the progression of breast cancer. cervix, when the disease has not responded to other available treatments. “This news gives me so much more hope for a healthier, happier and longer life.”recognizes a patient in the columns of the Guardian.
“The availability of this life-extending drug today is a significant moment for women with advanced cervical cancer, which disproportionately affects young women, allowing them to spend more time precious with their loved ones and to enjoy a better and longer quality of life”adds Cally Palmer, national director of the NHS.
And in France ?
In France, an early access authorization was granted to pembrolizumab in September 2022 for the treatment of cancer of the cervix, in the indication “in combination with chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab, in the treatment of adult patients with persistent, recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer”according to the HAS.
With the Trodelvy®, immunotherapy drug, land Keytruda® is now authorized in the treatment of triple negative breast cancer.
Sources:
- Women in England with advanced cervical cancer to be offered new treatment, The Guardian, 29 March 2023
- KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) – Cervical CancerHAS, September 2022
