New guidelines on treatment of breast cancer

New guidelines have today been issued on the best practice for the diagnosis and treatment of advanced breast cancer.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) claims the new guidelines will help clinicians to provide coherent and consistent care for patients with the cancer as well as ensuring equal access to services across England and Wales.

Amongst the recommendations issued with the NICE guidelines today is the offer of endocrine therapy as the first-line treatment for the majority of patients with oestrogen receptor-positive advanced breast cancer.

The guidelines recommend patients with a single or small number of brain metastases should also be offered surgery followed by whole brain radiotherapy, if they have a good performance status and have no or well-controlled other metastatic disease.

Professor Peter Littlejohns, clinical and public health director at Nice said in a statement: “These are the first guidelines looking at how best to diagnose and manage advanced breast cancer and set a standard of care across the country.”

John Winstanley, a consultant surgeon at Royal Bolton hospital and chair of the Guideline Development Group added it was important a diagnosis of advanced breast cancer was not seen as an immediate death sentence.