The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7166 p373-376
22 September 2001

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Scottish guidance for lung cancers

Guidance on the use of docetaxel (Taxotere), paclitaxel (Taxol), gemcitabine (Gemzar) and vinorelbine (Navelbine) to treat non-small cell lung cancer has been issued by the Health Technology Board for Scotland. The guidance is in addition to recommendations made by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, for England and Wales, in June (PJ, 16 June, p803).

The HTBS says that all four drugs may cause unacceptable side effects in patients whose quality of life is affected by the disease and that they should be warned about this. More data are needed to allow accurate comparison between treatments, it says.

The HTBS guidance highlights two differences between Scotland, and England and Wales. First, patients in Scotland with non-small cell lung cancer have a poorer survival rate than some countries in Europe. Secondly, the structure of the health service has changed recently to make use of networks linking professions and disciplines involved in the treatment of patients.

“Guide for patients and carers in Scotland”, CancerBACUP Scotland, 30 Bell Street, Glasgow G1 1LG (tel 0141 553 1553). The guidance is also available on the HTBS website (www.htbs.org.uk).

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