Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the removal of the end-of-life modifier on cancer technology appraisals.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its updated manual for health technology evaluations in January 2022 and introduced several changes to make its methods and processes fairer, faster, and more consistent. This includes the introduction of a broader severity modifier in place of the end of life modifier. Analysis carried out by NICE in the development of the modifier indicates that the vast majority of cancer medicines that would be eligible for the end of life modifier would also be eligible for a weighting under the severity modifier.

Since the changes were introduced, 79% of NICE’s appraisals of cancer medicines carried out under the updated methods have recommended the use of the treatment for some or all of the eligible patient population, either for routine use or use through the Cancer Drugs Fund. The approval rate for all cancer appraisals carried out since 2009 when the end of life modifier was introduced is 78%.