'Astonishing' new cancer drug could extend the lives of terminally-ill patients and eliminate their symptoms overnight....with virtually no side effects
- The pill is taken daily and blocks protein which causes cancerous cells
- Patients at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, Devon, first in the world to try it
- Terminally ill man 'fighting fit' a year after he was told he had months to live
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Professor Simon Rule, pictured, said the drug could 'completely change the way' cancer is treated in the UK
A new ‘miracle’ pill which could extend the lives of terminally-ill cancer patients and eliminate their symptoms overnight is being trialled by British researchers.
The medicine, which is said to have virtually no side effects, is taken in a single dose every morning and effectively switches off the mechanisms of leukaemia and lymphoma.
Unlike traditional forms of treatment like chemotherapy and radiotherapy, it has none of the debilitating side effects such as hair loss, tiredness and sickness.
Cancer patients at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, Devon, were the first in the world to trial the new drug, which is a new class of Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) inhibiting drugs.
They said the breakthrough treatment left them feeling better immediately and has had no side effects to date.
One terminally ill man given just months to live before the trials says he's ‘fighting fit’ - more than a year-and-a-half later.
The world-first project is being led by Professor Simon Rule, a globally-renowned expert in haematology and researcher at Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry.
He says the new pill has the potential to transform the lives of desperately ill patients and eliminate the need for costly, gruelling bouts of chemotherapy.
Professor Simon Rule, right, is leading the trials of the new drug at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, Devon. Terminally-ill patient David Hodge, 74, left, is testing the oral pill and says he is 'fighting fit' a year after he was told he only had months to live
Professor Rule said: ‘The astonishing thing about these drugs is that they have virtually no side effects, which is unprecedented from my experience. In some patients the effects are immediate.
HOW IT WORKS
- The Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) pill is built around a protein which plays a role in the signals that cause growth in cancerous cells. The pill blocks this protein causing the cancerous cells to die but leaves normal cells unaffected.
- It is taken orally in a single dose every morning and effectively switches off the mechanisms of leukaemia and lymphoma.
- It stops patients feeling all symptoms of the disease and has the ability to make cancer-sufferers feel better ‘the next day’.
- Terminally-ill patients who are currently trialling the drug have so far not reported any side effects, unlike other cancer treatments such as chemotherapy.
- It is likely to be several years before the drug can be made available to the public but Professor Rule says it has the potential to replace chemotherapy.
- It can improve life expectancy of those who are terminally-ill and improve quality of life.
‘Patients with lots of symptoms, particularly those with lymphoma, will feel better the next day after taking the medication.’
Current cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy, intensive chemo-immunotherapy, or stem cell transplants are effective but patients frequently relapse and eventually run out of further options.
The new oral pill works by blocking a protein which causes growth in cancerous cells which in turn caused the infected cells to die and leaves healthy cells unaffected.
The drug was first trialled on David Hodge, 74, from Plymouth, Devon, who has battled chronic lymphocytic leukaemia for 17 years.
Mr Hodge was given months to live because his immune system was so badly damaged and had become resistant to all other treatments.
He spent the first night of the trial in hospital before returning for regular check-ups over the subsequent 20 months.
He said: ‘I think with any new trial or drug, or with chemotherapy there's a little bit of trepidation but I'm a Christian and I prayed about this and I got great peace about it.
‘Even if it proves at this moment to be of little use to me, I trust that with fine tuning it will prove to be significant to those taking the drug later on.
‘It's just like, well it's better than taking paracetamol. I take the medication first thing in the morning at 6 o'clock and then go back to bed for an hour.
‘Afterwards I get up and get on with my day; I'm fighting fit. I've had no problems, no side effects, nothing.’
The next phase of Professor Rule's study will see BTK trialled against standard chemotherapy to see if it can become a viable long-term replacement.
He said: ‘This will completely change the way we manage these diseases. We have access to the next generation of the drug to be part of the next trial phases.
Patient David Hodge, 74, pictured, is the first person in the world to be treated with the new medication which is said to have virtually
no side effects
Mr Hodge, who is trialling the drug, said: 'I take the medication first thing in the morning at 6 o'clock and then go back to bed for an hour. Afterwards I get up and get on with my day; I'm fighting fit. I've had no problems, no side effects, nothing'
‘This is not a cure for cancer but it will mean we are significantly improving our patients' life expectancy and quality of life; similar to managing a chronic condition.
‘I have yet to come across another class of drugs in my career that has been so successful for leukaemia or lymphoma.
‘I have done a lot of drug trials in my career, this drug and its predecessor, which I was fortunate to be the first person in Europe to use - they are transformational as far as I am concerned.
Prior to starting the new drug, Mr Hodge, from Plymouth, battled chronic lymphocytic leukaemia for 17 years and was given months to
live because his immune system was so badly damaged and had become resistant to all other treatments
Professor Rule, pictured, will now trial the new drug against standard chemotherapy to see if it can become a viable long-term replacement. He said: 'This will completely change the way we manage these diseases'
‘Normally, what you expect with trials like this is that you treat a patient for a period of time and often what happens is the drug doesn't work.
‘The side effects make you stop the trial or the disease doesn't respond for very long. What is very exciting about this drug is the effects are continuing and there are no emerging side effects.
‘The next stage will be chemo-free treatment. We've been talking about it for years and now it might be a reality.
‘This has the very real prospect of changing the management of these difficult forms of cancer.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2584248/Astonishing-new-cancer-drug-extend-lives-terminally-ill-patients-eliminate-symptoms-overnight-virtually-no-effects.html#ixzz2wR3aorBW
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