Shahrin Ahmed: A life-changing drug will be available to women with uterine cancer

To treat endometrial cancer, between 500 and 750 women each year will receive treatment with two drugs purchased from different manufacturers.

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and lenvatinib (Lenvima) were found to increase the duration of cancer growth in clinical studies. The current chemotherapy treatment, which lasts just over three and a half months, was compared to a longer treatment that lasts more than seven months.

Patients who took the combination therapy had a significantly longer survival rate compared to those who had existing chemotherapy treatments in the trial. Compared to existing chemotherapy, people who took pembrolizumab and lenvatinib lived for an average of 19 months on average.

Today, the National Institute will approve both lenvatinib and pembrolizumab. It appears that Health and Care Excellence (NICE) are working together effectively to stimulate the immune system and stop the growth of cancer cells.

Patients are given pembrolizumab injections twice a week while taking two pills of lenvatinib a day. Patients receive treatment every three weeks under the current chemotherapy regime.

Approximately 9,400 women are diagnosed with womb cancer annually, making it the fourth most frequent cancer among women in the UK. Endometrial cancer has an 81% chance of surviving for five years. The percentage of people diagnosed with the disease who are still alive five years later is 81%. When cancer is not spread outside your uterus, the rate is even higher. Subsequently, the survival rate is capable of reaching 95%.

It is possible to cure most womb cancers by catching them early. Effective treatments can help women live longer and better, which is great news for all women.

Endometrial carcinoma is the most common form of cancer found in the uterus. Early diagnosis can often lead to a better prognosis than other womb cancers. Endometrial carcinoma that has advanced or recurrent symptoms is often difficult to treat and has short survival times.”

Source: Shahrin Ahmed/X