EORTC CLTF 2018 | Topical alkylating agents for mycosis fungoides in Europe
Access to convenient topical agents, that have few side effects and can be used easily, is very beneficial for mycosis fungoides (MF) patients. Here, Julia Scarisbrick, MBChB, FRCP, MD, of the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK, discusses the use of chlormethine gel for MF. This interview was recorded at the the European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Cutaneous Lymphoma Task Force (CLTF) 2018 Congress, held in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Transcript (edited for clarity)
Particularly in early stage disease, there’s very limited treatments, so most of our patients either have topical steroids, which cause thinning of the skin and can be absorbed, so aren’t a good long-term treatment. Or they have to travel to hospital for photo-therapy, or even radiotherapy.
But in 2017, March 2017, the EMA approved a new chloromethine gel, Lidaga. This had already been used in the States as Valchlor since 2013, when it got FDA approval...
Particularly in early stage disease, there’s very limited treatments, so most of our patients either have topical steroids, which cause thinning of the skin and can be absorbed, so aren’t a good long-term treatment. Or they have to travel to hospital for photo-therapy, or even radiotherapy.
But in 2017, March 2017, the EMA approved a new chloromethine gel, Lidaga. This had already been used in the States as Valchlor since 2013, when it got FDA approval. It isn’t available yet but we’re hoping very soon we’ll have this for our patients. It’s a very effective gel. It has a response rate around 60 to 70 percent in patients with mycosis fungoides, and it’s convenient in the fact that it comes in a tube. You keep it in the fridge and you just apply it to your lesions.
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