NICE recommends two drugs for ovarian cancer but rejects three

NICE has recommended paclitaxel and Jansen-Cilag’s Caleyx for the treatment of ovarian cancer in draft guidance.

Both paclitaxel and Caelyx (pegylated liposomal doxorubicin hydrochloride) are recommended as monotherapy and also in combination with platinum-based therapies.

But the cost-effectiveness body rejected GlaxoSmithKline’s Hycamtin (topotecan), PharmaMar’s Yondelis (trabectedin) and Lilly’s Gemzar (gemcitabine) for treating the first recurrence of platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer.

Hycamtin was also provisionally not recommended for treating cancer that has returned within six months of treatments with a platinum-based regimen or cancer that does not respond to platinum treatment at all.

Meindert Boysen, NICE programme director of appraisals, said: “NICE makes difficult decisions to ensure that people using the NHS get access to the most cost-effectiveness treatments, and to help the NHS to share its resources fairly.

“This draft guidance recommends paclitaxel and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin hydrochloride for the treatment of ovarian cancer that has returned after previous treatment with platinum chemotherapy. 

“However the independent committee found that the evidence on the further three drugs indicated that they didn’t provide enough extra health benefit for the cost to the NHS.”

Ovarian cancer is a common gynaecological cancer. The most common type of ovarian cancer arises from epithelial cells (the outside layer of cells) on the surface of the ovary, and can often spread from the ovary to any surface within the abdominal cavity including the fallopian tubes and peritoneal cavity.

Ovarian cancer predominantly occurs in older women, with over 80% of cases being diagnosed in women over 50 years. In 2010, around 7,000 new cases of ovarian cancer were diagnosed.