New NICE Guidance To Improve Care For Early Breast Cancer, UK

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has today issued guidance to the NHS on the use of docetaxel and paclitaxel for the treatment of early breast cancer following surgery.



NICE has recommended that:
Docetaxel, when given concurrently with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (the TAC regimen) in accordance with its licensed indication, is recommended as an option for the treatment of women with early node-positive breast cancer following surgery.
Paclitaxel, within its licensed indication, is not recommended for the treatment of women with early node-positive breast cancer following surgery.

Andrea Sutcliffe, Deputy Chief Executive at NICE and Executive Lead for this appraisal, said: "NICE has issued clear advice to the NHS on the use of docetaxel and paclitaxel for early breast cancer following surgery which will give the best care to patients and use NHS resources most effectively. This is the latest guidance to be developed using the new NICE rapid appraisal process, and we hope to continue to assess individual drugs quickly to provide robust guidance to the NHS close to when they are licensed"







About this appraisal



1. Docetaxel and paclitaxel are anticancer drugs that belong to a class of drugs known as taxanes.

2. NICE has assessed the use of these drugs as adjuvant chemotherapy, drug treatments that are given following cancer surgery.

3. Docetaxel has a UK marketing authorisation for the adjuvant treatment of patients with operable node-positive breast cancer in combination with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide.

4. Paclitaxel has a UK marketing authorisation for the adjuvant treatment of node-positive breast carcinoma following anthracycline and cyclophosphamide therapy.

5. Full recommendations can be found on the NICE website at nice.uk.

6. NICE issued guidance on the use of docetaxel and paclitaxel for advanced breast cancer in September 2001 and recommended that they should be made available as an option for the treatment of advanced breast cancer where the initial chemotherapy (including an anthracycline) has failed or is inappropriate. Full recommendations can be found at nice.uk/page.aspx?o=TA030.



About the Single Technology Appraisal (STA) process

7. The new STA process enables NICE to issue faster guidance by:




* Asking for a single submission of evidence from the technology's manufacturer.

* Carrying out an independent review of this evidence more quickly.

* Moving more quickly to the final (appeal) stage of the process where the draft recommendations are in line with the licensed use of the technology.

* Normally, formal consultation, which involves the production of an ACD (draft recommendations) rather than a FAD (final guidance) only takes place if the recommendations emerging from the Committee are substantively restrictive. A substantively restrictive recommendation is one that is more limited than the terms of the licensed indication to an extent judged to be significant in clinical practice.




About NICE

8. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health.


9. NICE produces guidance in three areas of health

public health - guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention of ill health for those working in the NHS, local authorities and the wider public and voluntary sector
health technologies - guidance on the use of new and existing medicines, treatments and procedures within the NHS
clinical practice - guidance on the appropriate treatment and care of people with specific diseases and conditions within the NHS.

NICE is the independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health.



For further information please visit:
nice.uk