New cancer drug less toxic than chemotherapy uncovered in UK: summary  

What we know

• A new cancer drug licensed in the United Kingdom is treating cancer in adults with much lesser toxic effects than chemotherapy.
• The drug, Blina is an immunotherapy that uses the body’s cells to boost the immune system and help the body recognise and destroy cancer cells. It is gradually being extended to children, to provide a less painful and safer treatment option than chemotherapy which uses strong chemical substances to kill cancerous cells in the body.
• The Blina comes in a bag of liquid administered through a thin plastic tube that constantly runs into a vein in the patient’s arm for months, with a battery-operated pump contained in a small backpack that regulates the spate at which the drug trickles into the bloodstream.
• The drug is said to have the ability to replace about 80% of chemo and is made such that healthy cells in the body are untouched in the process. Steroids are administered to cut off the chance of serious reactions or side effects before the infusion begins.
• Some 20 centres around the UK are using it off-label for children with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL). Another drug, the chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T), is also viable but more expensive and takes a longer time to be produced.

What they said

Chief investigator and consultant paediatric haematologist Prof Ajay Vora said the Blinatumomab is a better option compared to chemotherapy, "Chemotherapies are poisons that kill the leukaemic cells but also kill and damage normal cells - and that is what causes their side effects. Blinatumomab is a gentler, kinder treatment," he was quoted by the BBC.