LEUKAEMIA patients in the region have won an important victory in the fight to get life-saving treatment.

But it has come too late for the North-East woman whose face became the symbol of the struggle.

Patient Ann Tittley, 56, turned to The Northern Echo for help last summer when doctors told her they were not allowed to give her a new drug, Glivec, because it had not been approved for use by the NHS in England.

At that time she wrote to Prime Minister Tony Blair asking whether she needed to move to Scotland - where health bosses had approved the drug - to get the revolutionary treatment that might save her life.

Ultimately, Mrs Tittley was given Glivec and she was responding well, but tragically she developed an unrelated and untreatable cancer which claimed her life two months ago.

Her husband, Ken Tittley, an aerospace designer from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, said the decision by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) to back Glivec as the first choice treatment for patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia would have delighted his wife.

In a letter, he said he wanted to thank The Northern Echo "for all you did for Ann in her quest to receive the Glivec drug".

The Nice decision also means victory for Newcastle specialist Dr Stephen O'Brien who was the first in Europe to demonstrate the life-saving capabilities of the drug six years ago.

Dr O'Brien has been promoting the benefits of Glivec, which "cures" about 80 per cent of patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia.

Dr O'Brien said last night: "This is very good news. I am delighted that I can now give it to newly-diagnosed patients."

Until Thursday's decision by Nice, specialists across England could only give patients Glivec if they failed to respond to an earlier, less-effective drug, Interferon.

Dr O'Brien, who organised the first drug trials which demonstrated its miraculous qualities, said it had been "very frustrating" telling patients they would have to try a less-effective drug before being given Glivec.

Chronic myeloid leu-kaemia (CML) affects about 4,000 Britons with about 800 new cases a year.

The Royal Victoria Infirmary clinic sees between 25 to 30 new North-East CML patients every year.

Dr O'Brien has applied for funding to see whether Glivec can be improved by increasing the dosage or combining it with other drugs.

Sandy Craine, co-founder of the charity CML Support said: "I am delighted that Nice has finally recognised that Glivec should be available to all people with CML. This is especially important for newly diagnosed people as they will no longer have to endure the serious side effects associated with Interferon therapy."

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