NEWS: Pioneering Drug for Rare Eye Cancer

Hundreds of people in England with a rare form of eye cancer are set to have access to a “pioneering” drug, the NHS has announced.

Following approval by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), patients diagnosed with uveal melanoma can now be offered a drug called tebentafusp.

The cancer is thought to affect between 500 and 600 people in the UK each year, and develops from cells in the middle layer of the eye. Once it has spread to major organs, the disease is almost always fatal, according to the NHS.

The drug works by attaching to the proteins on the surface of cancer cells and T cells, a type of white blood cell. It helps the immune system recognise and kill cancer cells, slowing the growth of the disease.

According to NHS England, trials have shown the chance of surviving three years after starting tebentafusp is 27% compared with 18% on the current standard treatment checkpoint inhibitors.

Professor Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer, said: “It is great news that the NHS can now offer this pioneering treatment, giving people an option that can extend their lives and offer them valuable extra time with their families and friends”.