NICE OKs Another Advanced Breast Cancer Combination Treatment

NICE has recommended Pfizer’s Ibrance (palbociclib) for certain advanced breast cancer patients.

The institute recommended the drug with fulvestrant for patients with hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer that have already gone through endocrine therapy. Up to 3,300 women could be eligible for the therapy, NICE said.

NICE said that evidence suggests that compared with fulvestrant alone, palbociclib with fulvestrant increases the length of time before the disease progresses,” but noted it’s not yet known if the drug increases the length of time people live. The institute has also approved ribociclib and abemaciclib for the same stage of treatment.