A BREAKTHROUGH drug cocktail which can double the life expectancy of people suffering from a form of lung cancer could be rolled out in the North-East later this year.

The combination drug, trialled by researchers at Newcastle University, treats the symptoms of mesothelioma which is caused by exposure to asbestos and is usually inoperable.

About 1,000 people in the region are expected to be diagnosed with the disease this year alone. Many will have previously worked in the shipyards, railways and other heavy industries.

Victims of the disease are normally expected to live between six and 18 months.

But the trials carried out in the region found that in some cases, patients prescribed the new combination drug survived for three years or more.

It consists of a combination of newly-developed pemetrexed, created by US company Eli Lilley, and the existing drug carboplatin.

Professor Hilary Calvert, of the Northern Institute for Cancer Research at Newcastle University, said the drug caused lung tumours to temporarily shrink. At the same time it alleviated the pain felt by sufferers and allowed them to breathe easier.

Mr Calvert said the drug, already being tried at Newcastle General Hospital, is yet to be officially licensed for general use in cancer care.

But it could be made available under a compassionate release protocol at other centres in the region from October, once vetted and given approval by regional and local ethics committees.

He said: "We've found that this drug makes people feel better which is most important. It is not a cure but it is a step in the right direction."

The North-East has the highest rate of asbestos related disease in the country.

The GMB union alone has a register of 4,000 people in the region exposed to asbestos through their work.

Jim Marshall, its health and safety representative in the North-East, said news of the drug represented a "phenomenal" breakthrough.