The Institute of Cancer Research, London, is issuing the following statement in response to the draft decision by NICE not to recommend CAR T-cell therapy for two types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Commenting on the decision, Professor Raj Chopra, Head of Cancer Therapeutics at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said:
“It’s disappointing that patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma who have exhausted all other treatment options will not be able to access CAR T cell therapy – a brand new type of treatment for blood cancers.
“CAR T cell therapy uses a patient’s own genetically modified immune cells to target their cancer. The technique is complex and expensive, but it is also a major advance in cancer treatment that has cured some patients who would otherwise have died.
“If we’re going to see CAR T therapy widely available on the NHS, we need to find ways to reduce the costs. I hope NICE and the manufacturer will be able to work together both to bring the costs of treatment down and continue to build a stronger evidence base for it, so it can be made available to NHS patients as quickly as possible.”
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