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Volume 1, Number 2 |
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| Clinical studies round-up |
Ian E Smith MD FRCP FRCPE Professor of Cancer Medicine at the Royal Marsden Hospital, Chairman of the NCRI Lung Cancer Clinical Studies Group |
In the first issue of Lung Cancer in Practice, I presented a round-up of the trials currently under way in the National Cancer Research Network portfolio. Some of these will now be explained further. |
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| How effective are our MDTs? |
Michael D Peake, Editor |
Multidisciplinary team (MDT) working is the preferred model of cancer care in the UK. We need to assess what progress has been made in the field of thoracic oncology in this respect and ask just how effective our MDTs are and what remains to be done to ensure that patients get the best care in all circumstances. |
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| A new national resource centre for mesothelioma |
Liz Darlison RN BSc(Hons) FETC Nurse Consultant, Glenfield Hospital, Leicester |
Malignant mesothelioma is a tumour increasing both in incidence and profile. The inexorable rise in the number of cases in the Western world has been well documented and is set to continue until it reaches its peak, in the UK, around 2020.1 |
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| NICE guideline for lung cancer |
Jesme Baird MB ChB MBA Director of Patient Care, The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation |
NICE is preparing the clinical guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer, in the NHS, in England and Wales. It is anticipated that this guideline will be ready for publication in January 2005. |
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| The Scottish Medicines Consortium and lung cancer: one approach to treating NSCLC |
Alison Armour MB ChB BSc MSc MD MRCP FRCR Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Beatson Oncology Centre, Glasgow |
When a drug obtains a licence within the UK and Europe we will be reassured that it has been thoroughly assessed for quality, safety and efficacy. However, both the UK Medicines Act 1968 and the EU directive (EEC 65/65) are primarily concerned with safety and do not address issues of cost, cost-efficacy and context. |
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| The value of secondline chemotherapy |
Jean Baker RN RSCN Dip Prof Prac Cert Ed Macmillan Lung Cancer Nurse Specialist, Cardiff and the Vale NHS Trust |
The following case history highlights the benefits of chemotherapy for a patient with advanced NSCLC and illustrates the relevant issues that should be considered prior to giving secondline chemotherapy. |
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