Southampton postman’s recovery offers new hope for rare form of cancer

A targeted cancer drug could help patients with a rare type of leukaemia, according to new research.

A Southampton man is in remission after receiving a breakthrough treatment for hairy cell leukaemia (HCL) at Southampton General Hospital. The drug, called Venetoclax, is already used to treat other blood cancers.

Professor Francesco Forconi from the University of Southampton’s Centre for Cancer Immunology led the treatment. He is a haematologist at University Hospital Southampton.

Results have been published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Improving current treatments

HCL is one of the rarest types of leukaemia, which is cancer of the white blood cells. It gets its name from tiny, hair-like strands on the cell’s surface.

Chemotherapy is the main treatment, but it has many side effects and does not remove the disease completely.

Prof Forconi observed that Venetoclax could offer a new treatment option. He explained:

“Venetoclax targets a protein in HCL called Bcl2 that helps cancer cells survive. It stops Bcl2 from working and kills the cells. Importantly, it does this with very little side effects for the patient.”

David’s story

David Halford, a postman from Southampton, was diagnosed with HCL in 2007.

“I thought I had a chest infection,” he explained. “But as soon as the doctor saw me, he sent me straight to hospital. I was shocked when they told me it was cancer.”

David had several rounds of chemotherapy which got the disease under control. However, it had a lot of side effects, including sickness and extreme fatigue, which meant he had to take six months off work.

In 2018, scans revealed David’s cancer had returned. He did not want chemotherapy again, so Prof Forconi suggested Venetoclax.

After five weeks of taking Venetoclax in tablet form, David was feeling much better. Tests showed he was in remission, and he was able to return to his post rounds.

“I couldn’t believe it,” David said. “I thought I would have to have another six months off work, so it was amazing to be back after just five weeks. The experience was completely different to the treatment before. I hardly experienced any side effects.

“The treatment was brilliant as were all the medical staff at the hospital. They are wonderful people who work so hard.”

World-leading research

The University of Southampton is an international centre of excellence for HCL.

Southampton researchers are working with Ohio State University and the Royal Marsden Hospital to develop a registry on people with the disease. It will help researchers to identify new trends in patient outcomes, discover unknown complications of the disease and design clinical trials for new therapies.

Prof Forconi added: “We were thrilled to see Venetoclax work so well for David.

“This case is an excellent example of how we can use other drugs to treat rare diseases.

“I hope that our ongoing conversations between pharma and clinicians will lead to more research into how we can help people with this rare form of cancer.”