A breast cancer drug has been pulled from NHS treatment because it was not proving cost-effective, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has reported.
NICE chief executive Sir Andrew Dillon said the move will be disappointing for people, especially those with breast cancer that has spread.
The newly-published NICE guidance does not recommend the use of the drug in question called bevacizumab for the first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer; when used in combination with some chemotherapy drugs, and when other chemotherapy options are not appropriate.
Sir Dillon said "uncertainties" over the effectiveness of the drug meant use of it was not cost-effective.
He said: "I understand this news will be disappointing. However, NICE recommends a range of treatments that the NHS can use to treat metastatic disease and these are outlined in our clinical guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of advanced breast cancer.
"We can't recommend a drug that has not been shown to work as well as, or better than, current treatments and costs much more. Evidence presented to the independent Appraisal Committee did not conclusively show that bevacizumab, in combination with the chemotherapy drug capecitabine, could improve overall survival or improve a patient's quality of life more than current treatment.
"These uncertainties combined with the high cost mean the drug simply isn't cost-effective."
