Hundreds of women with aggressive cervical cancer are to be offered a new immunotherapy on the NHS, which could help more women survive and stay cancer-free in the long-term.
Pembrolizumab – which experts describe as being able to ‘take the handbrake off the body’s immune system’ to target cancer – will now offer a new option for women in England with locally-advanced cervical cancer.
This means the cancer has grown beyond the cervix to regions such as the pelvic wall, but not yet spread further around the body.
Trials found that adding pembrolizumab to standard chemoradiotherapy helped keep cancer at bay for longer and improved survival rates.
2 years after starting the treatment, nearly 7 in 10 patients (68%) were still living without their cancer progressing, compared with 57% for those receiving chemoradiotherapy alone.
The trial also found that 82.6% of patients were still alive three years after treatment with pembrolizumab and chemoradiotherapy, compared with 74.8% with chemoradiotherapy alone.
The drug is given every 3 or 6 weeks via an infusion or as a ‘one-minute’ injection, following the NHS’s recent rollout of a faster, injectable version of pembrolizumab – alongside chemoradiotherapy.
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS National Clinical Director for Cancer, said: “This is great news for women facing a diagnosis of aggressive cervical cancer – and represents one of the biggest improvements in treatment for this disease in recent years.
“Combining this immunotherapy with existing treatment has had very positive effect for patients in trials, helping the body’s immune system to target cancer more effectively.
“We’re delighted it will be available for patients on the NHS as it could help hundreds more women survive and stay cancer-free in the long-term.”
The NHS estimates around 550 patients in England will be eligible for the treatment over the next 2 years, around 270 per year.
The treatment has today been approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for treating patients with stages 3 or 4 locally advanced cervical cancer, following a commercial deal struck by NHS England with manufacturer MSD.
Patients will receive fast-tracked access from today, funded by NHS England’s Cancer Drugs Fund.
Louise Broadbelt, 55, from Surrey, was diagnosed with stage 3 locally advanced cervical cancer aged 50 and accessed the treatment via a clinical trial at The Royal Marsden. She said: “Nothing can prepare you for being diagnosed with cancer. All you want to hear is you will get the best possible treatment and have hope.
“I’m very grateful that I was offered the chance to go on the pembrolizumab clinical trial in 2021. I feel incredibly blessed and lucky that I was offered to participate in the trial and that I am still here today.”
The global clinical trial KEYNOTE-A18 involved 2 NHS hospitals the Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation Trust Hospital and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.
Cervical cancer is the 14th most common cancer among women in the UK, with 3,300 people diagnosed every year, according to Cancer Research UK.
Pembrolizumab, manufactured by MSD, is a type of immunotherapy which works by blocking a protein called PD-1, which acts as a brake on immune responses enabling patients’ immune cells to kill cancer cells.
This follows other recent developments in cervical cancer, including cemiplimab for recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer after chemotherapy and new research showing children vaccinated at age 12-13 against HPV have close to zero risk of dying from cervical cancer before the age of 30.
Public Health Minister Sharon Hodgson said: “This is a significant step forward for women facing one of the most aggressive forms of cervical cancer. Making pembrolizumab available on the NHS will give more patients access to a treatment that could help them live longer and, for some, achieve cancer-free lives.
“Thanks to the NHS, NICE and our partnership with industry, women in England will be among the first to benefit, ensuring the latest advances in cancer care reach those who need them most, as quickly as possible.”
Lyndsy Ambler, Cancer Research UK’s senior strategic evidence manager, said: “Adding immunotherapy to standard cancer treatment could improve people’s chances of survival, so it’s encouraging that pembrolizumab is being made available for some people with locally advanced cervical cancer through the Cancer Drugs Fund. This decision may also allow some patients to access the drug earlier in their treatment than previously.”
John McNeill, Oncology Business Unit Director at MSD in the UK, said: “We welcome today’s recommendation from NICE, which is an important step forward for women living with locally advanced cervical cancer.
“This is a cancer which disproportionately impacts women from underserved backgrounds and where there has long been an unmet need. Today’s decision represents a meaningful development for these patients, who may benefit from additional treatment options.”