The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7496 p386
5 April 2008

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NICE to assess cetuximab

Assessment of cetuximab for colorectal and head and neck cancer will form part of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s 16th wave of technology appraisals.

Following consultation (PJ, 13 October 2007, p394), ministers have decided that NICE should assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of cetuximab for use in the NHS in England and Wales for second- and third-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (following failure of oxaliplatin-including chemotherapy) and for metastatic or recurrent cell carcinoma of the head and neck (in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy).

NICE will also assess intensity-modulated radiotherapy for head and neck, breast, and prostate cancer in this wave of appraisals.

The topics for NICE’s 18th wave of clinical guidelines and public health guidance have also been announced. They include:

• Sedation in young people
• Contraceptive services for socially disadvantaged young people
• Prevention of skin cancer
• Prevention of uptake of smoking in children