NICE recommends Roche’s Tecentriq combo for certain lung cancer patients

Certain patients with untreated lung cancer in England have a new treatment option after cost-effectiveness body NICE made a draft recommendation that the NHS should fund Roche’s cocktail involving its immunotherapy Tecentriq. The combination of Tecentriq (atezolizumab), Avastin (bevacizumab), plus carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy has been recommended as an option for metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer in adults with untreated disease whose PD-L1 expression is low or negative. In the final draft guidance NICE has also okayed funding for those with EGFR or ALK-positive mutations, who have failed on a previous targeted therapy, in a decision that could make the treatment available to around 4,800 patients.