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Nivolumab to be removed from CDF for head and neck cancer

NICE has published draft guidance which does not recommend nivolumab (OPDIVO) for recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) after platinum-based chemotherapy.

Nivolumab is currently available on the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF). If the draft recommendation published today (January 7, 2021) does not change following public consultation, the treatment will be removed from the CDF on publication of the final guidance. At that point, new patients will not have access to nivolumab through the CDF.

However, those already on the treatment will be unaffected and will continue to have access to the drug for up to two years after starting treatment.

Once nivolumab is no longer available on the CDF, any new patients wishing to access it would need to make an individual funding request.

Evidence collected in the clinical trial and through the CDF showed that people with SCCHN live longer when treated with nivolumab than with one of three possible treatments in the comparator arm. However, there was uncertainty surrounding the results as only one of the comparator treatments (docetaxel) is used as standard care for this patient group in the NHS, making the long-term overall survival benefit of nivolumab unclear.

Additionally, the cost-effectiveness estimates were higher than NICE normally considers an acceptable use of NHS resources.

A consultation on the draft guidance is open until January 28, 2021. Submit feedback here.


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