Non-chemo blood cancer treatment approved for use in Scotland

John Greensmyth, who was diagnosed 30 years ago.

Venetoclax (Venclyxto), will be available on the NHS with obinutuzumab for some patients who have not previously been treated for their cancer.

John Greensmyth, 62, from Aberdeenshire, has lived with the most common form of blood cancer, Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) for 30 years.

About 2,100 people in Scotland currently have the disease.

As Mr Greensmyth has been through treatment he is not eligible for the new drug, but he welcomed the news and hoped it will have a positive effect on the lives of others.

“Chemotherapy impacts on time, you've got to go into hospital. As you can imagine, despite all the drugs to counteract the side effects it's not a pleasant experience. It impacts on your family life, it certainly impacts on your work life. And you would probably have to have chemotherapy several times when you relapse,” he said.

As he is immunocompromised, Mr Greensmyth was immediately placed in the shielding category from March 2020.

He managed to cope because of access to outside space in his garden, he said, but the lockdown was still “quite a challenge”.

Due to his condition he is in a priority group to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, but he said it will be more important for others around him to receive the vaccine, adding that it will be less effective for him.

"What's more important for me is that every other person that can possibly get the vaccine gets it, because that improves my risk of getting it, if they’re protected,” he said.

The pandemic has had a huge effect on Mr Greensmyth’s life.

“Even though I thankfully haven’t got it, Covid has had as big an impact on my life as my CLL diagnosis and subsequent treatments,” he said.

“One of the things that a CLL diagnosis causes is a lack of control. I haven’t got the freedom to do things that I would normally do if I didn't have this. And the fact that Covid is out with my control means that it's another complication, on top of my immunosuppressed situation.”

Reacting to the approval of the new treatment, Dr Mike Leach, Consultant Haematologist at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre in Glasgow, said: “Chemoimmunotherapy is currently the first line treatment for most CLL patients, however, it may not be well tolerated in the elderly and in those who have other health issues.

"The availability of this non-chemotherapy fixed duration combination regimen means that clinicians in Scotland now have another treatment option for these CLL patients, that can offer deeper clinical response and extended remission as well as fewer chemotherapy-related side effects. This has the potential to make a real difference to the lives of our patients.”

Marc Auckland, CLL patient and Chair of the CLL Support Association, said: “The SMC’s decision to make the venetoclax plus obinutuzumab combination treatment available within NHS Scotland to this group of patients is welcome news to the CLL patient community.

"This new fixed one-year treatment offers patients the opportunity of prolonged remission off treatment, which can help them to stay in work and participate in family and social activities. This can have immense psychological benefits”