NCCN publishes new guidelines with NCCN Evidence Blocks for Breast, Colon, Kidney, and Rectal Cancers

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) has published the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) with NCCN Evidence Blocks™ for Breast, Colon, Kidney, and Rectal Cancers. Part of NCCN's new value initiative, NCCN Guidelines® with NCCN Evidence Blocks™ illustrate five key components of value for specific therapeutic regimens: efficacy, safety, quality and quantity of evidence, consistency of evidence, and affordability.

"Combined, it is estimated that more than 400,000 Americans will be diagnosed with one of these four cancers in 2016, and NCCN is pleased to further educate providers and patients about these components in recommended treatment regimens within the NCCN Guidelines," said Robert W. Carlson, MD, Chief Executive Officer, NCCN. "At NCCN, we believe the most important value perspective is that of the individual patient, and the Evidence Blocks prioritize the physician-patient relationship by empowering patients, alongside their physicians, to determine treatment that is most in line with their individual value system."

NCCN Evidence Blocks™ are intended for all users of NCCN Guidelines, including providers and patients, as well as other stakeholders involved in the treatment decision-making process, as a means to initiate a discussion of value between a provider and patient. Together, the five measures encourage shared decision-making based on a patient's individual values.

NCCN Guidelines with NCCN Evidence Blocks™ were first unveiled in October 2015 for Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) and Multiple Myeloma.

NCCN Guidelines with NCCN Evidence Blocks™ are a derivative of the existing NCCN Guidelines that include visual representation of the existing criteria used by NCCN Guidelines panel members in determining appropriate treatment recommendations, as well as a new measure of affordability.

In publishing the NCCN Guidelines, panel members are able to integrate new findings with existing information to determine what the evolving standard of care should be for a given disease state. Implicit in the evaluation of each treatment are the efficacy and expected toxicities, as well as the quality, quantity, and consistency of the evidence supporting the recommendation. The new affordability measure is rated using panel members' knowledge of overall cost of the regimen, including but not limited to drug acquisition, administration, in-patient vs. out-patient care, supportive care, infusion, toxicity monitoring, and potential for hospitalization; the measurement does not represent indirect costs such as transportation or lost time from work. If affordability is of concern to an individual, the affordability score within a given NCCN Evidence Block™ should be intended as a catalyst for further discussion and investigation into direct cost of a regimen for the patient.

NCCN intends to publish NCCN Guidelines with NCCN Evidence Blocks™ for systemic therapies for all major cancer types by the end of 2016, with the entire library publishing by the end of 2017. Following publication of the NCCN Guidelines with NCCN Evidence Blocks™ for systemic therapies, NCCN intends to publish NCCN Evidence Blocks™ for radiation oncology and imaging, followed by surgical interventions.