People with advanced skin cancer should be able to receive ipilimumab as a first treatment, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) proposes.

In final draft guidance, NICE recommends that the drug ipilimumab (also called Yervoy and manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited) is made available on the NHS as a first-line treatment for patients with advanced malignant melanoma which is either unresectable (when the full tumour cannot be removed) or metastatic (the cancer has spread to other parts of the body).

Sir Andrew Dillon, NICE chief executive, said: “We already recommend ipilimumab as a second-line treatment and so we are pleased to be able to propose extending that recommendation to first line treatment too.

“In previous draft guidance issued for consultation early this year, the committee recommended ipilimumab only be used by the NHS for patients in clinical trials. However, during the consultation Bristol-Myers Squibb the manufacturer of ipilimumab submitted further information on how well the drug works. This information consisted of additional analysis of the existing data which demonstrated the degree to which the approved dose of ipilimumab can extend life when compared with current standard care in the NHS.”

The draft guidance is now with consultees, who have the opportunity to appeal against it. Until NICE issues final guidance, NHS bodies should make decisions locally on the funding of specific treatments.

For more details, go to: http://www.nice.org.uk/newsroom/pressreleases/NICEProposesIpilimumabAsAFirstTreatmentForAdvancedSkinCancer.jsp