Cancer Treatment Appeal: Patients' Last Hope Withdrawn

A formal appeal has been lodged with the NHS spending watchdog after its decision to withdraw the cancer treatment Tecartus from services across England and Wales. This pioneering therapy, which re-engineers a patient's own immune cells to target cancer, was made available through the Cancer Drugs Fund for a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) concluded the treatment did not perform as well in clinical practice as in trials. In response, Blood Cancer UK, Lymphoma Action, and Anthony Nolan have challenged this, expressing serious concerns for patients facing limited alternatives and calling the move a 'backward step for NHS care.'

Tecartus, also known as brexu-cel, is the only Car T-cell therapy available for mantle cell lymphoma, a blood cancer affecting about 600 people annually in the UK. Dr. Rubina Ahmed of Blood Cancer UK stated that for some patients, this therapy offers a last hope of a cure. Emily John, a specialist nurse, witnessed firsthand how Tecartus transformed lives when other options failed.

Paul Madley, 66, from Cardiff, shared his success story, crediting Tecartus for putting his stage 4 mantle cell lymphoma into remission in March 2025, allowing him to return to an active lifestyle. He finds the decision to remove the treatment 'truly unbelievable' and expressed deep disappointment and anger.

A NICE spokesperson acknowledged the appeal, confirming that patients who have started treatment will complete it. They noted that evidence showed the treatment's median survival was 2.5 years in NHS patients compared to four years in trials. NICE is currently evaluating two further treatments, sonrotoclax and acalabrutinib, for this patient group.