Posted by Michael Wonder on 01 Sep 2017
NICE says benefits of breast cancer drug fulvestrant too uncertain to make it cost effective
1 September 2017 - NICE has published draft guidance saying the evidence on using fulvestrant to treat a type of breast cancer does not prove it prolongs survival more than existing, less expensive treatments.
The draft guidance focuses on postmenopausal women who have oestrogen-receptor-positive, locally advanced breast cancer or breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, who have not already had treatment with hormonal therapy (aromatase inhibitors or tamoxifen).
The independent appraisal committee agreed that fulvestrant stalls the cancer’s growth by around 3 months compared to aromatase inhibitors, the drugs currently used to treat this type and stage of cancer. However, they found that the available evidence did not show that this leads to an increase in overall life expectancy.
