Pharmac to fund therapy against aggressive cancer

By REBECCA WALSH, health reporter

People with an aggressive form of cancer will now have access to a new treatment shown to improve their chances of survival.

Pharmac, the Government's drug-buying agency and drug company Roche have agreed to fund Mabthera, a cancer therapy shown to improve the chances of survival for people with an aggressive form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Until now Mabthera has been funded for patients only with the low-grade form of the blood cancer.

But a European study has found that Mabthera, used in combination with standard chemotherapy, improves the chance of survival for those with the aggressive form three years later by 22 per cent.

Pru Etcheverry, executive director of the Leukaemia and Blood Foundation said the decision to fund the drug was a "big step forward".

It was estimated about 30 to 40 more people would survive the disease each year as a result.

About 600 new cases of non-Hodgkins lymphoma are diagnosed each year in New Zealand, about half of those have the aggressive form of the disease.

Pharmac chief executive Wayne McNee said the decision meant a further 120 to 130 people would be treated with the drug each year.

Roche would pay the cost for patients with the aggressive form of the disease until the end of April. After that funding would come from the Government.

Non-Hodgkins lymphoma affects the body's immune system, preventing the body from protecting itself against infection and disease. It is the third-fastest growing cancer worldwide behind skin and lung cancer.

Mabthera is a targeted therapy designed to attack the affected cells and recruit the body's natural defences to destroy them.