Cancer cures fund goes to 100,000 as NHS milestone approaches after helping thousands of patients including a 16-year-old schoolboy whose ‘life was saved’ by the vital scheme

Nearly 100,000 patients have now benefited from an NHS program that provides rapid access to potentially life-saving cancer drugs.

The healthcare industry will reach a major milestone in April when it will receive its 100,000th patent medicine as a result of the Cancer Drugs Fund.

It provides faster access to more than 100 medications, covering more than 250 authorized uses, that help improve, extend or save lives.

The CDF, which opened in its current form in July 2016, allows patients to access new medicines before they are approved for routine use by the NHS.

Officials are using the process to gather more data on the cost-effectiveness of treatments so they can decide whether to fund them through usual channels or stop offering them.

Earlier this month, the new immunotherapy dostarlimab was one of the latest drugs to receive accelerated approval through the CDF, giving hundreds of women with advanced endometrial cancer the hope of significant additional time before their disease progresses.

Yuvan Thakkar, 16, from Watford (centre) was the first child in Britain to benefit from a groundbreaking CAR T therapy called Kymriah, thanks to the CDF

NHS England says the fund will benefit people with common cancers, such as breast, lung, colorectal and prostate cancer, as well as those with less common cancers, such as ovarian, cervical, kidney, skin, myeloma, lymphoma and leukemia, and rare cancers. including thyroid and bile ducts.

It means they can access new medicines almost six months faster than before.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, National Medical Director of NHS England, said: ‘Treating 100,000 cancer patients in England with innovative treatments through the Cancer Drugs Fund is a fantastic milestone for the healthcare system and testament to the hard work of oncologists and their teams by the whole country.

‘This vital Fund will help ensure that patients get access to the most promising medicines much sooner than would otherwise be the case, and help people with cancer receive a life-changing intervention that paves the way to a longer, healthier life with family and friends . ‘

Since its inception in 2016, 58 innovative treatments have been funded through the CDF, while further evidence has been gathered on their long-term benefits.

Thirty-three treatments have since been re-evaluated, of which 28 are now routinely available on the NHS.

John Stewart, national director for specialist commissioning at NHS England, said: ‘This huge milestone demonstrates the Cancer Drugs Fund’s incredible progress for patients to date, providing earlier access to innovative and cost-effective cancer treatments.

‘Today’s milestone figure is a significant achievement and underlines that over the past eight years, including some of the most challenging times in the history of healthcare, NHS staff have consistently embraced exciting, breakthrough medicines to provide their patients with the very best care provision and treatment.’

Yuvan Thakkar, 16, from Watford, was the first child in Britain to benefit from a groundbreaking CAR T therapy called Kymriah, thanks to the CDF.

The experimental drug, called ceralasertib, is designed to prevent the tumor’s cells from repairing themselves, causing them to die (stock image)

NHS England says the fund will benefit people with common cancers such as breast, lung, colorectal and prostate cancer (stock image)

He received the treatment, which modifies a person’s immune cells to recognize and attack cancer cells, at Great Ormond Street Hospital in early 2019, when he was 11 years old.

He had relapsed after other treatments, including chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. He is now preparing for his GCSEs this summer.

Yuvan said, “My life has changed so much since I got CAR T therapy.

‘I remember having to go to the hospital so often and not going to school for long periods.

“I am extremely grateful to GOSH for providing me with such incredible healthcare during my stay.

‘They have helped me recover to a state where I can enjoy so many of the things I love to do, such as playing snooker or pool, meeting friends and family and having a wonderful holiday.

“It’s hard to imagine what it would have been like if the treatment hadn’t been there.”

Yuvan’s mother, Sapna Thakkar, 45, said without the CDF there might have been no other way to get the life-saving treatment.

She said: ‘Having the money to treat people like Yuvan, who really need it, literally saves lives.’