The NICE Annual Review 2013/14 is now available and offers a snapshot of the institute's work over the past 12 months, as well as a look back as NICE celebrates its 15th anniversary.

In the first year as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – the institute's third name since it was established in 1999 – its main challenge has been to maintain and build on the relationships created with the NHS and local government in its clinical and public health programmes, and at the same time reach out to the social care communities with whom they will work.

To reflect its growing remit, the Annual Review microsite is structured by audience with content tailored for those working in secondary care, general practice, local government and social care, as well as information about how NICE engages with patients, service users and carers.

Of particular note this year was the updated guidance on familial breast cancer which marked a major shift in breast cancer care by recommending, for the first time, preventative drugs for women at-risk of developing the cancer.

NICE also published its 300th technology appraisal recommending the use of peginterferon alfa in combination with ribavirin to treat chronic hepatitis C in children and young people. The treatment can decrease the hepatitis C virus to undetectable levels, effectively providing a cure for a disease that affects around 200,000 people in England.

For more details, go to: https://www.nice.org.uk/News/Article/15-years-of-nice