Although we will not be issuing a formal press release, we wanted
to let you know over a thousand people could be set to benefit
after NICE recommended a new combination treatment option for
advanced bowel cancer.
Trifluridine–tipiracil, also known as Lonsurf and made by Servier
Laboratories, plus bevacizumab, is recommended in final draft
guidance published today (Wednesday, 28 August) for treating
metastatic colorectal cancer after two systemic treatments.
It is estimated just over 1,300 people a year in England would be
eligible to receive the new combined treatment, which is given by
tablets (trifluridine–tipiracil) and infusion (bevacizumab).
The treatment combination was previously not recommended at draft
guidance. Using real-world data and some additional analyses, the
treatment can now be recommended for use in the NHS.
The usual treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer after two
lines of treatment includes trifluridine–tipiracil alone or
regorafenib.
Real-world data on the use of trifluridine–tipiracil alone in the
NHS in England was presented as part of the additional evidence.
This was used to address some of the uncertainties identified by
the committee about overall survival for current standard care
with trifluridine–tipiracil.
Clinical trial evidence shows that, compared with
trifluridine–tipiracil alone, trifluridine–tipiracil plus
bevacizumab increases how long people have before their cancer
gets worse and how long they live. An indirect comparison also
suggests trifluridine–tipiracil plus bevacizumab increases how
long people have before their cancer gets worse and how long they
live compared with regorafenib.
The committee agreed that an additional weighting (a severity
modifier) should be applied to the benefit of treatment in
recognition of the severity of the condition. Metastatic
colorectal cancer is advanced bowel cancer that has spread to
other areas outside the colon and rectum. It often spreads to the
lymph nodes and liver but can also spread to other parts of the
body, including the brain.
The company has a confidential commercial arrangement in place
which makes trifluridine–tipiracil available to the NHS with a
discount.
You can read the full final draft guidance for
trifluridine–tipiracil with bevacizumab for treating metastatic
colorectal cancer after two systemic treatments on the NICE website.
