We are delighted to announce that the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), which reviews newly licensed medicines in Scotland, has published advice recommending the routine use of lenvatinib plus everolimus for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) following one prior VEGF-targeted therapy by NHS Scotland.

The lenvatinib plus everolimus combination was accepted following consideration through the SMC’s Patient and Clinician Engagement (PACE) process, which is for medicines used at the end of life and for very rare conditions.

The recommendation of lenvatinib plus everolimus increases the arsenal of drugs available to oncologists, enabling them to select the most effective drug or drug combination for individual patients when first-line treatment with targeted therapies fails. This decision also gives  hope to many people with advanced kidney cancer, who have come to the end of the line with respect to treatment options routinely funded by NHS Scotland.

Recommendation of the lenvatinib plus everolimus combination for use within NHS Scotland allows choice in second-line treatment. This enables patients and oncologists to individualise treatment plans according to specific disease/treatment history and contraindications, thereby enabling the best possible quality of life for the patient.

The lenvatinib plus everolimus combination seems to be well tolerated, as well as proven to be more effective at extending overall survival compared to single agent therapy with lenvatinib and everolimus. For these reasons, the lenvatinib plus everolimus combination was designated a breakthrough therapy by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of advanced or metastatic RCC. As a breakthrough therapy, the combination has been fast tracked for approval in a number of countries, including the US and Europe.

KCSN would like to thank those patients and clinicians who contributed to the lenvatinib plus everolimus SMC appraisal – without your dedication and perseverance on behalf of the kidney cancer community, the decision might not have been so positive – a BIG thank you! We are STRONGER TOGETHER!

Take a look at the SMC Decision Explained leaflet on the SMC website here

Read more in Holyrood here