New leukaemia drug hope
AROUND 1,850 leukaemia sufferers in Scotland can today be offered hope by a life-extending drug that has been made available on the NHS.
Rituximab, marketed as MabThera, halts the progression of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) for almost a year longer than chemotherapy alone.
The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has approved the drug for prescription by doctors to people with CLL, the UK's most common form of leukaemia. The drug already has clinical approval as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
When used in combination with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC) chemotherapy for previously untreated patients, the drug more than doubles the number of CLL patients achieving complete remission.
Dr John Davies, consultant haematologist at Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, said: "The addition of rituximab to chemotherapy is a major advance in the treatment of CLL and this is very welcome news for the entire CLL community."
Email to a friend
Print this page- Family mourn death of Glasgow ‘fight’ schoolboy
- Rangers takeover: Duff & Phelps threaten legal action against BBC
- Today’s youth not fit to be employed, says car firm Arnold Clark
- Rangers administration: Fans fear Duff & Phelps claims could scare off Green
- Rangers takeover: triple penalty punishment enough, says Johnston
- Alistair Darling leads ‘No to independence’ fight over tea and biscuits
- Scottish independence: SNP flip-flops over Nato
- Scottish Independence: SNP ‘won’t be Yes campaign’s only voice’
- Today’s youth not fit to be employed, says car firm Arnold Clark
- Scottish independence: ‘People here are best qualified to run Scotland’
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Edinburgh
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
