NICE responds to Daily Mail cancer drug claims

NICE has responded to a Daily Mail article on access to cancer drugs, in order to clear up claims of unfairness.

The article published on 9 April focused on the plight of Nikki Phelps, a patient with a rare glandular cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN1).  

Her consultant had recommended using Pfizer’s Sutent (sunitinib) as an off-label treatment for her condition, but funding has been refused by her Primary Care Trust.

The Daily Mail claimed NICE had played a role in blocking access to the patient, but NICE has now pointed out it has never been asked to review the drug for this cancer.

The report also claimed NICE had rejected 15 cancer treatments in the past 18 months and that “since then only five [cancer treatments] have been approved and ten rejected”.

In a letter written last week to Andrew Burnham, Andrew Lansley, Norman Lamb and Paul Dacre, Editor of the Mail, NICE chairman Sir Michael Rawlins responded that the Mail article was “factually inaccurate”.

Rawlins writes that in fact there have been ten recommendations with only four rejections and one ‘no appraisal’ (after Roche withdrew its Tarceva application).

The row takes on particular significance as it has arrived during the UK general election campaign.

 NICE declared it would not be publishing any guidance during the election campaign in order to remain “politically neutral”.

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley was quoted in the article saying he believed was “unfair” on cancer patients.  Opinion polls show that the NHS is the second most important issue to voters in the election, after the economy. The Conservatives have pledged to help cancer patients gain access to drug more easily than under Labour, promising to create a dedicated £200 million fund for new cancer treatments.