Targeted melanoma therapy to be made available on NHS

A targeted therapy is to be offered on the NHS in England and Wales for hundreds of patients with a particular type of aggressive skin cancer, which reduces the risk of the cancer returning.

Melanoma is currently the most aggressive type of skin cancer and over 15,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the UK. This gene mutation, called BRAF, occurs in around 50 per cent of cases, and around 500 of these patients have stage 111, which means the cancer cells have spread to lymph vessels, lymph glands or the skin close to the melanoma, but not to other parts of the body.

This therapy comes after a clinical trial of around 800 patients showed a reduced risk of the cancer returning in a group being given the therapy. The overall survival time also increased in those taking the therapy.

Melanoma UK’s Gill Nuttall, said “We are continuing to see an increase in the number of people in the UK with melanoma, especially among younger people.

“The availability of this treatment is a huge step forward for the hundreds of BRAF-positive patients who are currently left with very few options following surgery.

“The current ‘watch and wait’ approach is an extremely worrying and stressful time for patients and their families.”

Deputy director for the NICE Centre for Health Technology Evaluation Mirella Marlow, said the decision marked “an important development in the management of melanoma.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Paralegal, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (karenmotley@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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