UK's NICE gives AI's tentative approval

The UK' s advisory agency on best clinical practice, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), has issued preliminary advice stating that aromatase inhibitors can be used for early breast cancer. The preliminary recommendations cover the use of drugs such as Novartis' Femara (letrozole), AstraZeneca's Arimidex (anastrozole) and Pfizer's Aromasin (exemestane) for the adjuvant treatment of early estrogen receptor-positive invasive breast cancer in post-menopausal women.

The cost of these drugs, which amounts to around L1,000 ($1,868) per patient per year, is about 10 times as much as the standard first-line treatment, tamoxifen. Rob Coleman, consultant oncologist at Weston Park Hospital in Sheffield, welcomed the news. "The inclusion of aromatase inhibitors in the adjuvant treatment of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer in post-menopausal women has been shown to be more effective than the previous standard of five years of tamoxifen," he said. The NICE's opinion, which applies to England and Wales, is expected in November.