The new nice draft guidelines do not recommend the use of clozatinib in the treatment of ALK positive non-small cell lung cancer

2013-08-19 source: Ding Xiangyuan, in the final draft of the new lung cancer medication guidelines issued by nice, does not recommend the use of crazotinib from Pfizer for the locally advanced and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) positive after previous treatment ALK gene variation is considered to be a key driver of cancer development, such as non-small cell lung cancer In non-small cell lung cancer, the positive rate of ALK is about 3% - 5% Patients will have specific chromosomal translocation, forming the fusion protein of EML4 and alk, which leads to the proliferation and survival of tumor cells due to gene expression and signal imbalance Clozatinib is a kind of anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitor It can block the growth and survival of tumor cells by inhibiting the phosphorylation of ALK, and is used to treat advanced NSCLC patients with ALK positive During the public consultation of the draft guide, Pfizer submitted more information for nice's further consideration, including the patient drug access program, which provides preferential drugs to the national health service system (NHS); in addition, Pfizer also submitted a cost-effective analysis of the drug In the draft, nice has recommended many drugs for the treatment of NSCLC at different stages Although nice also agrees that clozatinib is effective in the treatment of ALK positive non-small cell lung cancer, in terms of cost performance, clozatinib is not an ideal choice even under favorable conditions The NHS itself has the right to decide to use a particular drug, and the draft does not mean that patients who are currently using clozatinib will be stopped The patient can continue to use the drug until the clinician thinks it can be terminated in time Source address: http://www.drugs.com/news/nice-recommendations-against-pfizer-s-xalkori-46788.html