A formal appeal has been lodged against the NHS spending watchdog's decision to withdraw a pioneering cancer treatment from patients in England and Wales. Tecartus, also known as brexu-cel, is a CAR T-cell therapy that re-engineers a patient's own immune cells to attack cancer. It had been available through the Cancer Drugs Fund for people with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma, a rare blood cancer affecting around 600 people a year in the UK.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended against continued NHS use, stating that evidence from nearly five years of real-world data showed the treatment did not work as well in clinical practice as it had in trials. In response, Blood Cancer UK, Lymphoma Action, and the stem cell charity Anthony Nolan have formally challenged the decision, warning that patients face very limited alternatives and calling the move a 'backward step for NHS care'.
Dr Rubina Ahmed, director of research, policy and services at Blood Cancer UK, said: "For some people with mantle cell lymphoma, whose cancer has come back or hasn't responded to previous treatment, this CAR T-cell therapy offers a last hope of a cure. We recognise that NICE decisions involve complex clinical and economic considerations but we are concerned about what this could mean for patients who have very limited alternatives." Emily John, a specialist nurse at Anthony Nolan, added that she had seen first-hand how Tecartus had transformed lives and that its removal was "incredibly troubling".
Paul Madley, 66, from Cardiff, was diagnosed with stage 4 mantle cell lymphoma in 2021. After chemotherapy and remission, his cancer returned in July 2024. He received Tecartus in autumn 2024 and was told he was in remission by March 2025. "I lead a full and active lifestyle… To therefore be told that NICE have decided to remove this treatment I find truly unbelievable," he said. Ropinder Gill, chief executive of Lymphoma Action, said the charity had received numerous enquiries from anxious patients.
A NICE spokesperson said the organisation welcomed the appeal and stressed that anyone who had already started treatment would be able to complete it. They acknowledged the decision would be deeply disappointing and recognised the distress caused, but maintained that the independent committee had carefully considered all available evidence.
