Trodelvy is accepted for use in mTNBC patients who have already received two or more systemic therapies
The SMC has accepted Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan) for use in Scotland on the NHS, for the treatment of adults with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC).
mTNBC can be particularly difficult to treat and the metastatic stage of the disease is typically considered incurable. Trodelvy has been accepted for use in mTNBC patients who have received two or more prior lines of systemic therapies and at least one for unresectable locally advanced or metastatic disease.
The decision means that approximately 150 patients in Scotland each year could be eligible for the treatment, which has the potential to extend lives by several months compared to existing therapies.
Additionally, this is the first therapy specifically recommended for the treatment of mTNBC, that has relapsed after prior systemic therapy.
“Today’s approval will be the most welcome of news for patients with triple negative breast cancer,” said Dr Caroline Michie, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at University of Edinburgh. “There is a huge unmet need for more effective drugs in this type of secondary breast cancer and this will represent the first new medicine approval after first line treatment in over a decade.”
“Patients with this form of the disease unfortunately are often younger, and, for them, having hope is everything. I know many patients of mine have been anxiously awaiting this decision and will be hugely relieved and delighted today. I would also like to commend the SMC for bringing forward this review, acknowledging the real unmet need to increase the number of treatment options for patients as quickly as possible,” she added.
Traditionally, breast cancer therapies work by targeting either hormone receptors or specific human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. In TNBC, however, none of these traditional receptors are present on cancer cells, which is what makes it so difficult to treat.
Roughly 4,700 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Scotland each year, with an estimated 11-15% of these being triple-negative. A third of all patients diagnosed with TNBC will experience a metastatic recurrence of their disease within an average of 2.6 years.
