Published on 12 August 2021
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust
A Merseyside patient is one of the first in the country to receive a new treatment for advanced ovarian cancer.
Clinicians are hoping it will extend her life and the mum-of-two says it has already allowed her to return to work and care for her children.
The Liverpool woman is the one of the first in the UK to be given a combination of the drugs Bevacizumab and Olaparib outside of a clinical trial, after the new therapy was approved for use in the NHS.
The patient at Liverpool's Clatterbridge Cancer Hospital had to have a genomics test to find out if the treatment could work for her, which was arranged by her medical team.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently approved the use of the drug combination as it may help to control ovarian cancer for longer, with evidence of a larger effect in patients whose disease is HRD-positive, meaning they have a deficiency in a certain gene that can progress the disease.
The patient was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer in July last year and had surgery followed by chemotherapy and responded well. But after NICE approval, The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust Gynae-Oncology team arranged urgent genomics tissue testing to establish whether she may be eligible for this new treatment. The results showed she was, and the team worked quickly to allow her to receive it.
The patient, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “Having this new treatment combination has given me the chance to physically go back to what I was doing before my diagnosis and that is great progress, especially for your mental wellbeing. It allows you to focus on something else and not just the cancer.
“At the moment, I am doing okay. The side effects of the treatment have been manageable and it has allowed me to go back to my job, though working from home.”
Ovarian cancer has few symptoms and so is often discovered late when it is difficult to cure completely.
The patient said: “The new treatment aims to prolong remission so you can stay well enough to live your life and enjoy it as best you can.”
Dr Danielle Shaw, Consultant in Medical Oncology at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are so pleased that this patient was able to have access to this new treatment option.
“Recent clinical trials have shown that this treatment has the potential to help control her ovarian cancer for as long possible to allow her to get back to work and to enjoy time with her family.”