Imatinib for gastro-intestinal stromal tumours - horizon scanning review
NHSC
Record Status
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.
Citation
NHSC. Imatinib for gastro-intestinal stromal tumours - horizon scanning review. Birmingham: National Horizon Scanning Centre (NHSC). New and Emerging Technology Briefing. 2002
Authors' objectives
To summarise the current research evidence on imatinib for gastro-intestinal stromal tumours.
Authors' conclusions
- Clinical impact: Although the patient group is relatively small, there are no effective alternative therapies if surgery is not curative. The median survival of unresectable or metastatic GIST is about 12 months.
- Service impact: There will be little service impact as imatinib is used on an out-patient basis.
- Additional factors: There may be a strong patient lobby to use this treatment especially if the ongoing clinical trials support early trial results.
- Financial and overall NHS impact: If imatinib is used for all the 300 estimated cases of GIST within the expected licensed indications per year in England and Wales, the drug costs will be between 5.6M and 11.2M GBP for a year's treatment. The uptake may be rapid given the lack of effective alternatives and the widespread involvement in clinical trials.
Department of Public Health&Epidemiology The University of Birmingham Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT United Kingdom Tel: +44 121 414 7831; Fax: +44 121 414 2269 Email: c.packer@bham.ac.uk