Will the Cabinet Secretary confirm if bevacizumab for first and second line treatment in combination with chemotherapy has been approved and is currently being prescribed for people with advanced bowel cancer?
All treatments recommended by NICE or our own appraisal body the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG) are available to prescribe in Wales.
NICE published Final Draft Guidance (ID6465) on the 6 February, recommending bevacizumab as a first or second line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer in adults when targeted treatments or immunotherapy are unsuitable, or chemotherapy would otherwise be offered.
Health Boards and Trusts in Wales are required to make bevacizumab available for this indication within two months of 6 February, as per the terms of the New Treatment Fund.