10 October 2016 - New treatments for thyroid cancer and lung cancer among five medicines accepted for routine use by NHS Scotland.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium has today published advice accepting five new medicines for routine use by NHS Scotland. Two of these medicines, lenvatinib (Lenvima) for advanced thyroid cancer and nivolumab (Opdivo) which can be used to treat a type of lung cancer, were accepted after consideration through the Patient and Clinician Engagement (PACE) process for medicines that treat end of life and very rare conditions.

Lenvatinib is used to treat thyroid carcinoma (a rare cancer). It is used when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body and does not respond to conventional treatment with radioactive iodine. PACE participants spoke of how life expectancy can be significantly reduced for these patients. Lenvatinib may improve progression-free survival compared to existing treatment and is also associated with a different side-effect profile which some patients may find more manageable. It has the potential to offer patients the opportunity to retain or regain a good quality of life.

Nivolumab was accepted for the treatment of a type of lung cancer known as non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the PACE meeting, patient groups and clinicians highlighted that patients tend to be diagnosed with late stage disease and often have a poor prognosis. Nivolumab can offer patients around three months extra survival time and the potential for improved quality of life, which is very valuable in the context of a limited expected overall survival time of around eight months.

Read SMC press release