NICE have released an Appraisal Consultation Document with draft guidance, concluding that Sorafenib is clinically effective (for advanced HCC when surgical or locoregional therapy has failed or are not suitable) but it is NOT cost-effective and are thus NOT recommending its use within the Cancer Drugs Fund or for routine commissioning in the NHS. They are inviting comments on the draft appraisal which can be accessed at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/GID-TA10055/consultation/html-content
Anti-tuberculous therapy for maintenance of remission in Crohn's disease Authors' conclusions: Anti-tuberculous therapy may provide a benefit over placebo for the prevention of relapse in participants with Crohn's disease in remission. However, this result is very uncertain due to unclear study quality and the small numbers of patients assessed. Further studies are needed to provide better quality evidence for the use of anti-tuberculous therapy for maintaining remission in people with quiescent Crohn's disease.
Molecular-targeted first-line therapy for advanced gastric cancer Authors' conclusions: There is uncertainty about the effect of adding targeted therapy to chemotherapy on survival outcomes in people with advanced gastric cancer, with very little information on its impact on quality of life. There is more certain evidence of increased risk of adverse events and serious adverse events. The main limitation of the evidence for survival outcomes was inconsistency of effects across the studies, which we could not explain by prespecified subgroups in terms of the type of therapy or tumor type. Ongoing studies in this area are small and unlikely to improve our understanding of the effects of targeted therapy, and larger studies are needed.
Aminosalicylates for induction of remission or response in Crohn's disease Authors' conclusions:Sulfasalazine is only modestly effective with a trend towards benefit over placebo and is inferior to corticosteroids for the treatment of mildly to moderately active Crohn's disease. Olsalazine and low dose mesalamine (1 to 2 g/day) are not superior to placebo. High dose mesalamine (3.2 to 4 g/day) is not more effective than placebo for inducing response or remission. However, trials assessing the efficacy of high dose mesalamine (4 to 4.5 g/day) compared to budesonide yielded conflicting results and firm conclusions cannot be made. Future large randomized controlled trials are needed to provide definitive evidence on the efficacy of aminosalicylates in active Crohn's disease.
Core Development Award One Core Development grant of up to £50,000 will be awarded for translational or proof of concept research in any area of gastroenterology.
Applications are particularly encouraged in the following areas pancreatitis, nutrition, upper GI diseases, functional bowel disorders, IBD, GI infections/microbiome but all applications will be considered.
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