From 11 days to 46: the new approval for cancer fluid build-up
What happened
The UK's medicines regulator has approved a new treatment for one of the harder problems in advanced cancer. On 7 October 2026, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced it had approved a medicine called catumaxomab. It is sold under the brand name Korjuny. The marketing authorisations were granted on 2 October to Atnahs Pharma UK Limited. The medicine treats malignant ascites. That is a build-up of fluid in the tummy caused by cancer. The fluid contains cancer cells. It can make the abdomen swell, which is uncomfortable and can make it hard to eat, move or breathe easily. The approval is for adults whose cancer can no longer be treated with standard therapy. In other words, it is for people who have run out of other options. At the moment, the usual answer to malignant ascites is a procedure called paracentesis. A doctor puts a thin tube into the abdomen and drains the fluid off. It works, and it brings quick relief. The trouble is that the fluid usually comes back, so the procedure has to be repeated again and again. Catumaxomab is given in a different way from most cancer drugs. It is not a tablet or a drip into the arm. It goes through a catheter straight into the abdominal cavity, as four infusions, with the dose stepped up each time. A doctor experienced in cancer treatment has to supervise it. The MHRA approved it through the International Recognition Procedure. That is the route the regulator uses when a trusted partner regulator has already assessed a medicine. In this case, the European Medicines Agency authorised Korjuny in February 2025.
Why this matters
If you have never had a family member go through this, it is easy to miss why a few extra weeks matter so much. Repeated draining is draining in every sense. Each paracentesis usually means a trip to hospital. It means waiting, a needle, a tube, and a few hours lying still. For someone who is already very unwell and very tired, that is a hard day. For a family member doing the driving, it is a day off work and a long wait in a corridor. It also carries risks. Any procedure that puts a tube into the body can cause infection or bleeding. Draining large amounts of fluid repeatedly can also pull protein and salts out of the body. So a treatment that pushes the next procedure further away is not a small thing. It is fewer hospital trips, fewer needles, and more days at home. This is also a reminder of something that gets lost in cancer headlines. Not every advance is about living longer. Some are about living better in the time you have. Malignant ascites is a symptom problem, and symptom problems are often where patients feel the biggest difference. Julian Beach, the MHRA's Interim Executive Director of Healthcare Quality and Access, said malignant ascites is a major burden for people with cancer, especially when treatment options are limited. He said the approval "provides an additional treatment option that can help extend the time patients live" without needing another drainage procedure.
What the evidence actually says
It is worth being precise about what the trial showed, because it is easy to over-read a cancer story. The main study included 258 patients. All had EpCAM-positive cancer. EpCAM stands for epithelial cell adhesion molecule. It is a protein found on the surface of certain cancer cells, including cells floating in the ascitic fluid. The patients in the trial had no further chemotherapy options, or chemotherapy was not suitable for them. Catumaxomab is an antibody. It latches on to EpCAM on the cancer cells and then calls in the immune system to help destroy them. Because it is put directly into the abdomen, it works where the problem is. Here is the headline result. People who had catumaxomab after their fluid was drained went around 46 days before they needed draining again. People who had the drainage alone went around 11 days. That is the finding. Note what it is not. It is not a cure. The MHRA's announcement does not report that people lived longer overall, and it does not claim that. The measured benefit is more time between drainage procedures. There are side effects, and some are significant. Common ones include feeling sick, being sick, diarrhoea, tummy pain, fever, chills and tiredness. The medicine can also cause cytokine release syndrome. That is an inflammatory reaction that happens when the immune system is switched on strongly. It is one of the reasons the treatment needs close supervision by a specialist team. Catumaxomab also has a long history. It was first authorised in the European Union in 2009, then withdrawn in 2017 for commercial reasons, not safety ones. The rights were later picked up and the medicine was brought back through the approval process. So this is not a brand new discovery. It is a medicine returning with a current authorisation behind it. One more honest caveat. An MHRA approval means a medicine can be sold in the UK. It does not automatically mean the NHS will fund it everywhere, or that it will be available at your local hospital straight away. Those are separate decisions.
Practical advice
If this is relevant to you or someone you love, here is what is actually useful to do. Ask the question directly. If you or a relative are having repeated paracentesis for cancer-related fluid, it is reasonable to ask the oncology team whether catumaxomab might be an option. Ask specifically whether the cancer is EpCAM-positive, because the trial evidence is in EpCAM-positive cancers. Write your questions down before the appointment. Appointments go quickly, and it is very easy to come out having forgotten the thing you most wanted to ask. Three written questions is usually better than ten remembered ones. Keep a simple diary of drainage dates. If you can tell the team "it was drained on these four dates", that is far more useful than "quite often lately". It helps them see the pattern. Ask your clinical nurse specialist, not just the consultant. In cancer care, the nurse specialist is often the person with the most time and the clearest answers about day-to-day symptoms. If a new medicine is started, report side effects. Anyone in the UK can report a suspected side effect from any medicine through the MHRA's Yellow Card scheme. You do not need to be a health professional, and you do not need to be certain the medicine caused it. Reports from patients and families are a real part of how safety problems get spotted. Finally, do not stop or change any cancer treatment on the strength of a news article. Including this one.
What to know
The MHRA has approved catumaxomab, brand name Korjuny, for malignant ascites in adults whose cancer can no longer be treated with standard therapy. It is given as four infusions directly into the abdomen, under specialist supervision. In the main trial of 258 patients, people treated with catumaxomab after drainage went about 46 days before needing drainage again, compared with about 11 days for drainage alone. Side effects include sickness, tummy pain, fever, chills, tiredness and cytokine release syndrome. The realistic summary: this is a symptom treatment that can buy more time between uncomfortable procedures for a group of people with very few options left. That is genuinely worth having. It is not a cure, and availability through the NHS is a separate question to ask your own team about. Sources: MHRA (GOV.UK), 'MHRA approves catumaxomab to treat cancer-related fluid build-up in the abdomen', 7 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mhra-approves-catumaxomab-to-treat-cancer-related-fluid-build-up-in-the-abdomen; European Medicines Agency, 'Korjuny (catumaxomab)' European public assessment report, marketing authorisation 10 February 2025, https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/korjuny; MHRA, 'Yellow Card scheme', https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/. This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. If you are living with cancer, your own clinical team knows your situation and is the right place to take questions about treatment options.
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