Decision approves kidney cancer drug for NHS use
A new draft guidance has recommended everolimus for treating some people with advanced kidney cancer, a
drug previously only available through the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF).
The committee looked at new evidence and a price discount submitted by the drugs company, and was able to approve the drug for routine use on the NHS. Everolimus (also called Afinitor, and manufactured by Novartis Pharmaceuticals) is now recommended to be routinely available on the NHS as a treatment option for some patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
Everolimus, given in the form of an oral tablet taken daily, works by interfering with the growth of new blood vessels within a tumour; this prevents it spreading. .
Taking into consideration the revised discount price, as well as the limited treatments available to people with RCC, everolimus is now recommended as an option for routine use in the NHS for people for whom initial treatment has proved to be unsuccessful and the disease has progressed.