Rare blood cancer treatments on NHS offer ‘renewed hope’

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By Olivia Bowthorpe

Around 200 children and adults with rare blood cancers are set to benefit from two new treatments approved for the NHS in England.

NHS England has approved dabrafenib for people of all ages with histiocytic neoplasms, and a combination of brentuximab, vedotin and bendamustine for patients aged eight and above with relapsed or treatment-resistant classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

Professor Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer, said it was a “landmark moment” for patients with the two forms of cancer.

He added: "For people living with the uncertainty of these rare cancers, these innovative therapies could offer something that can be hard to find - renewed hope - while allowing many patients to take their treatment at home instead of in hospital, so they can spend more time living their lives."

The new drugs were approved through NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG), which makes recommendations on drugs and treatments that are not being assessed by NICE, such as where they are not licenced for the clinical indication in question.