NICE Recommends Dinutuximab Beta for Treating Neuroblastoma

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended dinutuximab beta be offered as a cancer treatment for children through the National Health Service and said approximately 60 percent of children with high-risk neuroblastoma could be treated with the drug.

The survival gain of the drug is three to five years compared to the current treatment option of isotretinoin, NICE found.

Neuroblastoma is most common in children under the age of five and is estimated to affect around 100 children in the UK annually.

The drug will be given to patients aged 12 months or over whose disease has at least partially responded to first stage chemotherapy, followed by myeloablative therapy and stem cell transplant but only if they have not received anti-GD2 immunotherapy.