The Cancer Letter

The leading source for information on the issues that shape oncology since 1973

Drugs & Targets

The U.K. removes Keytruda from Cancer Drug Fund in bladder cancer indication

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on email
Share on print
BYLINE
IN THIS ISSUE
DOWNLOAD PDFTABLE OF CONTENTS

England’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has rejected Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in patients who receive locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who have had platinum-containing chemotherapy.

Merck sponsors Keytruda.

The drug has since been removed from the Cancer Drug Fund, where it was available previously.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence said it couldn’t recommend the drug because of cost-effectiveness.

Table of Contents

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN

ClinicalTrials & Tribulations

The story of daraxonrasib is the ultimate hero’s journey
A narrative curve with twists, turns, intrigue, drama—and a blow to a mighty foe

Those of us who have devoted our careers to treating recalcitrant cancers know the heartbreak of walking alongside an individual facing an advanced diagnosis. We not only shoulder the clinical responsibility, but also the emotional weight that accompanies every step of that journey as each patient’s story becomes connected to our own.
By W. Kimryn Rathmell

At Senate hearing, Brown’s El-Deiry and other witnesses say they were targeted for arguing that mRNA vaccine may be linked to cancer

If you believe in the miraculous healing power of ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, and the harm from vaccination for HPV and COVID-19, you’ve got a powerful friend in Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
By Sara Willa Ernst, Claire Marie Porter and Paul Goldberg

Eric Small, ASCO’s immediate past president, speaks on the toll of toxicity—financial, emotional, physical—in cancer
“Discovery alone is not enough. It’s about what becomes of what we discover. It’s about translation.”

In a poignant keynote punctuated with anecdotes about grief, American Society of Clinical Oncology’s immediate past president Eric Small emphasized that the annual conference is not just about scientific discovery, but about a responsibility to translate discoveries into better outcomes for cancer patients globally. 
By Claire Marie Porter
Table of Contents

Never miss an issue!

Get alerts for our award-winning coverage in your inbox.

Login

Site license subscribers:
Log in with your IP | Register a sponsored account