Following a full submission:
erlotinib (Tarceva®) is not recommended for use within NHS Scotland.
Indication under review: as monotherapy for maintenance treatment in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with stable disease after 4 cycles of standard platinum-based first-line chemotherapy.
Erlotinib maintenance treatment provided a statistically significant increase in progression free survival and overall survival in patients treated with standard first-line platinum-based chemotherapy, both in the whole study population and in a post hoc analysis in patients with stable disease. In the whole study population the changes in these outcomes were considered to be of modest size.
The manufacturer’s justification of the treatment’s cost in relation to its health benefits was not sufficient to gain acceptance by SMC.
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Medicine details
- Medicine name:
- erlotinib (Tarceva)
- SMC ID:
- 664/10
- Indication:
- Maintenance treatment in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with stable disease after 4 cycles of standard platinum-based first-line chemotherapy
- Pharmaceutical company
- Roche
- BNF chapter
- Malignant disease and immunosuppression
- Submission type
- Full
- Status
- Not recommended
- Date advice published
- 17 January 2011