NICE has today opened a consultation on preliminary draft guidance on the drug olaparib (Lynparza) for maintenance treatment of relapsed platinum-sensitive ovarian, fallopian tube and peritoneal cancer. The drug is for cancers in people who have tested positive for the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, and whose disease has responded to second-line or subsequent platinum-based chemotherapy. 

The evidence provided shows that the price that the NHS is being asked to pay for olaparib is too high for the benefit it may provide to patients, so the preliminary guidance does not recommend it.

This draft guidance is now open for public consultation: NICE has not yet published final guidance to the NHS.

Commenting on the draft guidance, Sir Andrew Dillon, NICE chief executive, said: “Olaparib slows the progression of the disease for patients with some forms of ovarian cancer but the evidence that it can extend life is uncertain. Because patients are already living longer than two years with conventional treatment, we weren’t able to apply the flexibility we can sometimes use when we appraise cancer drugs.”

For more details, go to: http://www.nice.org.uk/news/press-and-media/nice-consults-on-draft-guidance-on-olaparib-for-ovarian-fallopian-tube-and-peritoneal-cancer