SCOTTISH HOSPITAL NEWS
SCOTS FIRST TO RECEIVE BREAKTHROUGH IMMUNOTHERAPY FOR LUNG CANCER
The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has recommended the Bristol- Myers Squibb breakthrough cancer immunotherapy Opdivo®(nivolumab) to treat NHS patients with locally advanced or metastatic squamous non- small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease has progressed after prior chemotherapy.
In 2014, around 5,300 people were diagnosed with all types of lung cancer in Scotland, with a majority of these patients diagnosed at an advanced stage; the prognosis for survival in these patients is poor. Approximately ten per cent of patients diagnosed with lung cancer in Scotland will survive five years or more. In 2014, approximately 4,100 people died from lung cancer – which is almost equivalent to the amount of deaths from colorectal, breast, prostate and oesophageal cancers combined.
The SMC decision means that Scotland is the first country within
‘SINGLE GENE CAN PROTECT AGAINST NEURODEGENERATIVE
DISEASE CAUSES’ New research has identified how cells protect themselves against ‘protein clumps’ known to be the cause of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease.
The study, which was published recently in Cell and was conducted by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with the MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit at the University of Dundee, offers an insight into the role of a gene called UBQLN2 and how it helps to remove toxic protein clumps from the body and protect it from disease.
Using biochemistry, cell biology and
sophisticated mouse models, the researchers discovered that the main function of UBQLN2 is to help the cell to remove dangerous protein clumps – a role which it performs by first detangling clumps, then shredding them to prevent future tangles.
Previous work has shown that when the UBQLN2 gene is faulty, it leads to a neurodegenerative disease called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis with Frontotemporal Dementia (ALS/FTD or motor-neuron disease with dementia). However, until this study, it was not fully understood why mutation of this gene caused disease.
the UK to approve the treatment for use on the NHS, and now joins a number of other European countries, including Germany, Greece and Sweden in making this life-extending treatment option available for squamous NSCLC patients. Lung cancer is a serious health burden for Scotland with incidence rates amongst the highest in the world. It is the biggest cancer killer in the country, accounting for one-quarter of all cancer deaths in 2014.
Nivolumab represents the first major treatment innovation in this type of lung cancer for almost 20 years and is the first in a new class of medicines (PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitors) for the treatment of lung cancer patients. It has an innovative mode of action that works by harnessing the ability of the immune system to fight this type of advanced lung cancer as well as advanced forms of skin and kidney cancer.
DELIVERING INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS
Alliance Healthcare – the UK’s leading distributorand wholesaler of pharmaceutical, medical and healthcare products.
Our business was founded by local pharmacists, to support community pharmacy. Seventy years on, our commitment remains the same, but the healthcare environment we work in is changing quickly. That’s why, using our expertise and working in partnership with pharmacy, hospitals and dispensing doctors, we’re focused on developing and delivering integrated solutions and innovations, to improve healthcare in our communities and help your business grow.
With end-to-end involvement right across the supply chain, from factory gate to patient and every point in between, we are committed to using our extensive network and years of expertise to deliver, not only medicines, but added-value services to improve healthcare in our communities.
To find out more about the solutions we can offer, visit our website
www.alliance-healthcare.co.uk or call us on 020 8391 2323.
Member of Walgreens Boots Alliance
Alliance Healthcare_Scottish Pharmacist_2016_Feb_1/
2pAdvert_02.indd 1
02/02/2016 12:31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64