Skin cancer patients on NHS to receive ‘life-changing’ new drug cemiplimab

NHS patients battling a deadly form of skin cancer are now taking a drug that can destroy tumors for twice as long as current treatments.

Cemiplimab will be available to hundreds of patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma who have not responded to surgery and radiotherapy.

The second most common skin cancer, the disease is normally not life-threatening and relatively easy to treat, but in rare cases it spreads to other parts of the body and becomes fatal.

Previously, only a handful of people had access to cemiplimab as part of a clinical trial. Now the UK’s drug watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), has determined that it will be available to all NHS patients once their disease begins to spread.

The decision follows surprising research data showing that half of patients who take cemiplimab live for at least two years. Typically, experts say, those at this stage of the disease do not survive more than a year. Previous studies have shown that the drug shrinks tumors by more than 30%.

Dr. Andrew Sykes, consultant clinical oncologist at Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester, said: “Before the arrival of this drug, these patients were often starving throughout their life in prison and rarely survived for more than a year. But now we see patients in our clinic who have been taking this drug for at least two years and still have no disease. This is truly life changing”.

About 28,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma each year. The vast majority of cases are caused by skin damage caused by UV rays, the sun, or tanning beds. Cancer usually appears as a small, firm, pink bump on the face or neck. The patch will then be rough and crusty, soft to the touch, and may bleed.

Unlike skin cancer in melanoma, the more common form, which kills around 2,300 Britons each year, the spread of the disease is unusual. Squamous cell carcinoma is usually detected early and successfully treated with a minor procedure to remove the lesion. It can be cut or frozen with extremely cold liquid nitrogen. Most patients also receive radiation therapy to kill any remaining cancer cells.

Hollywood star Diane Keaton, now 76, successfully removed her midlife squamous cell carcinoma and has been an advocate for solar safety ever since.

But in the UK, in around 1,000 cases per year, the cancer returns to other parts of the body where it is aggressive and difficult to treat. As with about 600 patients a year, the disease is likely to spread if not detected early enough.

Hollywood star Diane Keaton (above), now 76, successfully removed squamous cell carcinoma from her face at midlife and has been an advocate for solar safety ever since.

Before the advent of cemiplimab, doctors could do little for advanced disease: chemotherapy would typically prolong life by several months.

Cemiplimab works by blocking proteins on the surface of a cancer cell that help hide the cancer cell from the immune system. The body’s fighting cells can then quickly detect and destroy it. Treatment lasts for up to two years or until the treatment stops working. A very small number can stop due to serious side effects – the drug affects the immune system, which can make patients vulnerable to infections.

Dr. “For the vast majority, side effects are mild: things like fatigue, itchy rashes and aches are common,” Sykes said.

One patient who has benefited from the drug is William Rankin, a retired engineer from Standish, Lancashire. The grandfather of two, now 80, was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2017 after his dentist noticed a lump on the top of his head.

William removed the three nodules and the radiation therapy killed any remaining cancer cells, but the cancer had spread to the lungs, liver, and lymph nodes under his arms.

In November 2019, William was referred to The Christie and was offered cemiplimab. He stopped treatment in November 2021 after reaching his two-year limit and is still cancer-free today.

“This drug has given me a lifeline,” says William. “I know, if it weren’t for me, I might not be here today, and it’s encouraging that others have the same now.”