§ Ann KeenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the results of the Intergroup Study with Taxol-cisplatin and the national Ovarian Cancer Chemotherapy Consensus Statement; and if he will make a statement. [51659]
§ Mr. BoatengSome clinical trials on the place of "Taxol" (Paclitaxel) in the treatment of ovarian cancer have already reported results but others are still underway. An updated analysis of the survival benefit of using Taxol 743W in combination as a first line treatment of advanced ovarian cancer was considered earlier this year by clinicians who issued the national Ovarian Cancer Chemotherapy Consensus Statement. A full presentation of the analysis was made in May at the meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. These have undergone close scrutiny by the profession.
Early indications are that these results are encouraging and we have asked the Trent Development and Evaluation Committee to review their earlier work on the use of Cisplatin and Paclitaxel as a first line treatment in ovarian cancer in the light of these new data. This is being considered by the Standing Medical Advisory Committee alongside guidelines being prepared by the Joint Council for Clinical Oncology and following that, advice will be issued to the National Health Service.