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Health watchdog reconsiders advice on asbestos cancer drug
The Government's health watchdog has agreed to reconsider its decision on a drug for people with asbestos-related cancer.
The appeal panel of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) partially upheld an appeal over the use of pemetrexed disodium (Alimta) for people with mesothelioma.
Earlier this year it said the drug should not be used across the NHS in England and Wales. It said Alimta should only be recommended for use in new or ongoing clinical trials, a decision appealed by manufacturer, Eli Lilly.
Nice has now said its decision will be reviewed by its appraisal committee.
Dr Gillian Leng, implementation director and executive lead for the guidance, said: "The appeal mechanism is one of a series of checks and balances built into our appraisal process.
"It ensures that we issue the right guidance to the NHS, based on the correct interpretation of the evidence. Today's decision shows that these checks and balances work effectively."
Joanne Rule, chief executive of the charity Cancerbackup, said: "We are very pleased that Nice will be looking at this important treatment again, following the recent appeal. Resulting from exposure to asbestos, mesothelioma takes a long time to develop and when the cancer is diagnosed, patients often have a very poor prognosis.
"As a cancer with very few treatment options, we hope Nice will approve this treatment which helps to control symptoms such as pain and can give patients vital extra months."
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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