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Rare Cancers: Drugs

Asked by Mr Andrew SnowdenConservativeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 29 June 2026UIN 10034

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to NICE cost-effectiveness thresholds on access to medicines for rare cancers.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

National Health Service patients will get improved access to life-changing treatments as a result of the changes to the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) cost-effectiveness threshold announced in the United States and United Kingdom pharmaceutical partnership.

NICE has already recommended two new medicines for rare cancers following these changes that it would otherwise have been unlikely to recommend:

  • Vorasidenib for treating astrocytoma or oligodendroglioma with IDH1 or IDH2 mutations after surgery in people 12 years old and over [ID6407]; and

  • Ripretinib for treating advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumours after three or more treatments (review of TA881) [ID6496].

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