Published 14 August 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a1262
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a1262

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Watchdog set to reject four drugs for kidney cancer on the NHS

¹ Margate

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The UK clinical watchdog has proposed rejecting four drugs for use on the NHS for advanced renal cancer, saying they are clinically effective but not good value for money.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued draft guidance this week that rejects the drugs sunitinib (Sutent), bevacizumab (Avastin), sorafenib (Nexavar), and temsirolimus (Torisel). The guidance is out for consultation until 29 August, with the final guidance due in early 2009.

The recommendation, which applies in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, has provoked an angry response from charities that claimed that NICE’s appraisal system was not appropriate for all types of drugs.

NICE’s draft guidance says that it does not recommend these drugs for advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma but that people who are receiving the treatments should have the option to continue with their treatment until they and their clinicians consider it appropriate to stop.

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