New treatments see blood cancer survival rates up

MORE than half of patients diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) are now surviving the cancer thanks to improved diagnosis and treatment, campaigners have said.
Blood cancer: Twenty sub-types of NHL now known. Picture: PABlood cancer: Twenty sub-types of NHL now known. Picture: PA
Blood cancer: Twenty sub-types of NHL now known. Picture: PA

Cancer Research UK said that rates of the disease – which affects the blood – have doubled since the early 1970s, with more than 12,000 cases diagnosed each year in the UK, including more than 1,000 in Scotland.

But their report found that survival from NHL had increased from less than a quarter still alive after ten years in the 1970s to more than half predicted to survive among those disgnosed today.

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The report, co-authored with the Haematological Malignancy Research Network (HMRN) and backed by Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, said the “vast improvements” in survival were largely due to better treatments.

Of particular note was the drug rituximab, which Cancer Research UK scientists helped develop with their early work into the immune system.

Earlier diagnosis linked to improved understanding of the disease has also boosted survival, the experts said.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma affects white blood cells which normally defend the body against infection.

In patients with the disease, these cells stop working properly, too many are produced and they can collect together to form tumours. What causes NHL remains unclear, though problems with the immune system are thought to be involved.

Dr Russell Patmore, consultant haematologist and one of the report’s authors, said: “We now know there are more than 20 sub-types of the disease, each with their own distinct patterns of incidence and prognosis.

“And by knowing which type we’re dealing with, treatment can be tailored so it has the greatest benefit to patients.”

The report also includes the first population-based estimates of survival for some of the sub-types of the disease, Cancer Research UK said.

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It reveals a huge variation in survival depending on the type of the disease a patient suffers.

For example, patients diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma – a rare but aggressive sub-type of NHL – have only a one in four chance of surviving for more than five years.

This compares with around nine in ten people surviving for at least five years after being diagnosed with follicular lymphoma, which is more common and develops more slowly.

Dr Patmore added: “When we know the type of lymphoma we’re dealing with, we can use more targeted therapies like rituximab. This is largely responsible for the survival improvements in the more common forms of the disease.

“It’s important future research focuses on early detection and classification of lymphoma sub-types, as well as improving the quality of life for people living with the disease.”