December 2022 • PharmaTimes Magazine • 9
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Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals establishes ovarian cancer therapy
Over the past two years Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals (NNUH) have successfully established the UK’s only gynae-oncology programme administering heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) at the time of surgery for patients with ovarian cancer.
During this period the multidisciplinary team has completed 40 cases, recording good outcomes in the process. These results have been achieved by a vast team including consultants, nurses, healthcare assistants, pharmacists, occupational therapists and clerical staff across the surgical and medical divisions.
HIPEC is a procedure carried out following the completion of complex surgery to remove all visible disease in the abdomen and pelvis. Following the initial procedure, a 40-42°C solution is washed through the patient in order to kill off any remaining cells.
Patients have to meet strict criteria – their cancer must be advanced but not spread to other organs unless it is a different type of cancer and not linked to the first. Furthermore, they must be assessed as fit enough to undergo major surgery.
NNUH consultant gynae-oncology surgeon, Nikos Burbos, reflected: “At the moment we are treating 20-30 of our most advanced ovarian cancer patients a year. These are people who have the most aggressive form of cancer, but who we feel benefit from this procedure.”
Research provides hope for patients with neurodegenerative disease
Scientists have discovered a new treatment that slows the progression of neurodegenerative disease in mice. The breakthrough research may offer hope in tackling currently untreatable conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
The study, led by researchers at the University of Glasgow’s new Advanced Research Centre (ARC). discovered that by using a novel drug – which selectively activates a brain protein called the M1-receptor – the lifespan of mice suffering from neurodegeneration could be extended.
At present, treatments for AD can only target symptoms, including memory impairment, and previous attempts to establish a drug that can slow down the disease have been unsuccessful.
The study demonstrates how many of the features of human AD, including memory loss and brain inflammation, could be treated in mice when they were given the new drug, known as a positive allosteric modulator or M1-PAM. The study also indicated that, in addition to treating symptoms, M1-PAMs may also be able to slow the overall progression of the disease.
The drug has emerged after over a decade of research from the teams at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee and the University of Glasgow. Meanwhile, The Vanderbilt University team is currently testing an M1-PAM in humans as a treatment for memory loss in AD patients.
HOT & NOT
Sobi has announced that NICE has issued the Final Appraisal Document in England and Wales recommending the use of Doptelet. Also known as avatrombopag, the treatment involves adults with primary chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) who are refractory to other treatments such as corticosteroids or immunoglobulins.
The appraisal follows results from a double-blind, randomised phase 3 study with open-label extension and two sequential phase 2 studies.
The charity Kidney Cancer UK has, through its approach to NHS England, secured a commission for NICE to produce the first ever clinical guidelines for the condition.
The decision follows six years of research by the charity, working closely with experts across all aspects of kidney cancer care through its Kidney Cancer UK Accord group. The group commissioned a two-year service quality audit of over 18,000 kidney cancer patients, using data from NHS Digital.
Xerion Healthcare and Medicines Discovery Catapult have been awarded Innovate UK SMART Grant funding for treating brain tumours.
Existing treatment approaches include surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It is common, however, for the tumour to return to the site of removal. Indeed, recurrent tumours require extensive medical interventions, which often do not translate into increased rates of survival.
AstraZeneca has announced that the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has updated advice for Lokelma for adult patients with hyperkalaemia in Scotland.
The advice to the SMC now means patients can access Lokelma – also known as sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (SZC) – in emergency care settings for the treatment of acute, life-threatening hyperkalaemia alongside standard of care. Consequently, SZC is accepted for restricted use within NHS Scotland within outpatient care for hyperkalaemia patients with chronic kidney disease or heart failure.
The ABPI has reinforced its message to industry about developing new antibiotics.
In 2019, it was estimated that 1.2 million deaths globally were due to antibiotic-resistant infections while, across England, during 2019-20, there were over 90,000 hospital admissions. Nevertheless, the global pipeline for new antibiotics has been unable to address the problem.
Drug resistant microbes are developing faster than new antimicrobial treatments, creating a global threat to modern medicine.
New data released by the World Health Organization in the Global Tuberculosis Report 2022 showed an increase in TB incidence in 2021 for the first time in almost two decades and a further increase in mortality.
This included 4,400 people dying per day, prompting the Stop TB Partnership to express alarm over an increasingly dire situation and the impact it will have on people, healthcare systems and economies.
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