Agenda items for April Cancer Treatments Advisory Committee meeting

Update

We are sharing the following information about what the Cancer Treatments Advisory Committee will be considering at its upcoming meeting in April.

Matters arising and correspondence

Cyclin-dependent kinase-4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors for breast cancer 

The Committee will advise us on some of the consultation feedback we received from our December 2023 proposal to fund ribociclib for advanced breast cancer. This includes the impact of funding a second CDK4/6 inhibitor for people who have an adverse reaction and appropriate eligibility criteria. 

Pemetrexed open-listing (chemotherapy)

The Committee will advise us on the impact of open listing of pemetrexed which would remove the need for an application for a special authority. 

Bendamustine for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (blood cancer)

The Committee will advise us on the impact of widening access to bendamustine for people with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia who have received prior chemotherapy treatment(s). 

Potential brand change for pazopanib for kidney cancer

The Committee will advise us on the appropriateness of a potential brand change for pazopanib and any implementation requirements. 

Lanreotide for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours – a tumour of the endocrine system 

The Committee will advise us on the use of lanreotide for the treatment of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GP-NETs). This will inform our existing assessments of these funding applications.

Applications 

Consideration of treatment for prostate cancer 

The Committee will advise us on apalutamide for the treatment of metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, which is also known as metastatic castrate-sensitive prostate cancer. This will inform our options for any future funding opportunities. 

This relates to the following application: 

Consideration of a subcutaneous treatment for various cancers

The Committee will advise us on the use of a subcutaneous atezolizumab formulation, comparing the health benefits and suitability considerations to the currently funded intravenous formulation. 

The Committee will consider both the currently funded indication (non-small cell lung cancer) and other indications we have received funding applications for. 

This relates to the following application: 

Consideration of treatments for metastatic melanoma (skin cancer)

The Committee will advise on treatments for a form of metastatic melanoma that has a specific type of mutation, BRAF V600. The discussion will focus on the relative health benefits treatments considering new evidence from the publication of longer-term clinical trial results. 

This relates to several applications for unresectable BRAF-mutated metastatic melanoma:

Consideration of treatments for melanoma (skin cancer)

The Committee will advise on treatments before or after surgery for stage III melanoma that has been removed or can be removed. This includes the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors and BRAF/MEK inhibitors (such as those above) for people with BRAF V600 mutated disease.

This relates to the following application:

Applications for BRAF/MEK inhibitors have not been received, however we will create these following the meeting for people to track their progress. 

Specialist Advisory Committee: Cancer Treatments Advisory Committee(external link)