NHS preparing to offer ‘game-changing’ cancer treatment

Health service chief calls for affordable access to CAR-T, which modifies immune system to destroy cancer cells

The NHS is preparing to fast-track a "game-changing" cancer treatment into hospitals, its chief executive has said, calling for the manufacturers to help by setting an affordable price.

Simon Stevens said CAR-T therapy, which has been licensed in the US but not yet in the UK, could be approved for use this year. The treatments, which are hugely expensive, work by genetically engineering the patient's immune system's killer T-cells to recognise and destroy cancer cells.