The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7436 p98
27 January 2007

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NICE rules on hyperparathyroidism and metastatic cancers

Cinacalcet is not recommended for routine treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with end-stage kidney disease who are being maintained on dialysis therapy, according to National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance.

However, the drug can be used to treat patients on dialysis with uncontrolled parathyroid hormone levels (greater than 85pmol/L) that cannot be lowered by other means.

In other guidance issued this week, NICE recommends that patients with metastatic breast cancer be treated with gemcitabine in combination with paclitaxel but only when docetaxel, alone or with capecitabine, is also considered appropriate.

For patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, NICE rejects bevacizumab as first-line treatment and cetuximab as second-line treatment. However, NICE advises that people already receiving these agents should have the option to continue.