Blood cancer drug success
The once-daily oral treatment, containing the active substance ibrutinib, has been shown to prolong survival for patients with three types of blood cancer.
The complex and rare diseases are chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, mantle cell lymphoma and Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia.
The first person in Europe to receive ibrutinib for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia participated in the RESONATE trial at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.
The trial that included nine patients was led by consultant haematologist, Dr Patrick Thornton, who had seven patients under his care in Beaumont.
A patient was also being treated with the drug in University Galway and another in St James’s Hospital in Dublin.
“I have patients from this trial who are alive and doing well, whom I believe wouldn’t have survived without this therapy,” said Dr Thornton.
“The treatment represents a complete paradigm shift in the treatment of leukaemia. It offers hope for the most difficult-to-treat people with various chromosomal deletions that normally do very badly or are resistant to chemotherapy.”
The pharmaceutical firm, Janssen Ireland, said Imbruvica (ibrutinib) is now reimbursed in Ireland for the treatment of the rare and complex blood cancers.
Janssen Ireland country director, Dr Leisha Daly, said it was a “positive step forward” for patients.
Dr Thornton said the trial started in the summer of 2012 and recruitment stopped in April 2013.
“Two of my seven patients are still well and receiving treatment; the other two are still alive and well and three have subsequently died. Some of the patients who took the drug for a while got an extra two to three years of life that they would not have had.”
Imbruvica interferes with the growth and spread of cancer cells in the body. Dr Thornton described the drug as a “maintenance therapy” that should be offered to patients for whom there was no treatment left.
“Chemotherapy will work in a lot of patients, and they will get remission. The problem is when the disease comes back again. Very frequently the chemotherapy does not work, or does not work for very long.”
Albert Kavanagh, 76, from Dublin, was diagnosed with chronic lymphatic leukaemia 16 years ago and after treatment with chemotherapy went into remission for eight years.
After receiving two forms of chemotherapy that were unsuccessful, Dr Thorton invited him to join a clinical trial, and he continues to do well on the therapy.
“I can do more things, like gardening and painting and people comment on how well I am looking,” said Albert, who was outdoors, on Tuesday, cutting down 20-foot trees for his neighbour.
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