New bladder Cancer Treatment Offers Hope for longer Survival

Thousands of patients with bladder cancer could live twice as long thanks too a newly approved treatment available on the NHS.

Health leaders say this approval is “one of the most hopeful advances in decades” for those battling bladder cancer.

The treatment combines enfortumab vedotin (from Astellas adn Pfizer) and pembrolizumab (from Merck). The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) approved it on wednesday.

clinical trials showed patients receiving the combination survived an average of 33.8 months,compared to 15.9 months with chemotherapy.

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Researchers also measured how long the disease didn’t worsen. Patients on the new treatment had a progression-free survival of a year-double the six months seen with standard treatment.

three in ten patients showed no evidence of cancer after treatment, compared to 14.5 percent of those receiving standard care.

Martyn Hewett, 75, received the new treatment at Barts Health NHS Trust after surgery to remove his tumors wasn’t successful.