People with advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer will soon have access to a new treatment option following a NICE recommendation. Final draft guidance from NICE is set to arrive on Friday 1 October for the intravenous injection.
The life-extending drug, atezolizumab, is recommended for people unsuitable for platinum containing chemotherapy, and whose tumour expresses PD-L1 at a level of 5% and above.
The decision for the treatment, also known as Tecentriq and made by Roche, was made in conjunction as part of the Cancer Drugs Fund and under the managed access agreement. Approved in the US, EU, and a number of countries in the world it is used for non-small cell and small cell lung cancer, certain types of metastatic urothelial cancer.
The clinical trial for atezolizumab showed that people given the treatment are likely to live up to eight months longer compared with those who have platinum-containing chemotherapy.
Urothelial carcinoma is cancer of the cells on the inner lining of the bladder, urethra, ureter, or renal pelvis, and 90% of these cancers are found in the bladder. The treatment will be available and eligible for around 130 people each year in the UK.
Meindert Boysen, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation at NICE said: “I am pleased we are able to recommend this life-extending treatment for people with this form of urothelial cancer.
“The independent appraisal committee heard from the clinical and patient experts that there is an unmet clinical need for people with this form of cancer. They also recognised that people value additional treatment options which have a positive impact not just in terms of extending their life, but in improving their quality of life too.”
