UK’s NICE publishes new standards to improve care for children and young people with cancer

All children and young people with cancer should have the opportunity to take part in relevant clinical trials to increase knowledge about the disease and improve survival rates. This is one of a number of recommendations by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to improve standards of care for children, teenagers and young adults with the disease.

The new NICE quality standard for children and young people with cancer says that the participation of the younger generation in clinical trials is “an important factor that has contributed to improved survival rates on childhood cancers.” It calls for suitable trials to be identified by the child or young person’s multidisciplinary care team and that the young child or adult in question is able to make an informed decision about whether or not to participate.

Follows experts’ call for change in EU system