Posted by Michael Wonder on 22 Nov 2018
New life-extending lung cancer treatment approved by NICE
22 November 2018 - NICE today recommends in draft guidance that immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (also known as Keytruda), used with pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy, should be a treatment option for people with untreated advanced lung cancer.
NICE estimates that more than 3,000 patients in England may be eligible for this combination treatment.
NICE said that as further evidence is needed on the benefits of the treatment, it could not be considered for routine NHS use.
However, it recognised that it has the potential to be cost effective, and was likely to extend life. This made it eligible for use on the Cancer Drugs Fund.
