Newer drug on NHS for systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma

Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is a type of T-cell lymphoma. It is a rare disease, with around 400 people diagnosed with ALCL every year in the UK. It is difficult to gather enough evidence for drugs to be approved for rare diseases.

In October 2017, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended brentuximab vedotin as a treatment option for some people with systemic (whole body) anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) that had relapsed (come back) or was refractory (didn’t respond) to first-line treatment. This treatment was previously available through the Cancer Drugs Fund but will now go into routine use on the NHS.

Brentuximab vedotin combines an antibody with a chemotherapy drug. It is also used to treat classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

Read our Lymphoma TrialsLink news story to learn more.