NICE launched its consultation on new draft kidney cancer clinical guideline

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) first guideline on kidney cancer recommends better use of biopsies to avoid surgery. This guideline consultaion is the result of many years of work of research by Kidney Cancer UK’s Accord panel following their submission of evidence. Read how we brought about this change here.

New guidance aims to reduce variation in treatment and prevent unnecessary surgery, improving care for patients and supporting healthcare professionals.

Hundreds more people with suspected kidney cancer should have a biopsy to help confirm their diagnosis sooner and treat their disease more effectively, according to new draft guidelines from NICE.

NICE has today launched its consultation on a new draft kidney cancer clinical guideline, which provides a comprehensive overview of the diagnosis, treatment, and care of adults with suspected or confirmed renal cell carcinoma (a type of kidney cancer). The draft guideline has been developed with clinical experts and patients.

Just over 11,000 people in England are diagnosed with kidney cancer each year. On finding a lesion in the kidney some people undergo surgery to remove the whole kidney or a section of it. Without a biopsy, diagnosis of whether lesion was cancerous or not can only be confirmed at this time. Removal of a kidney can have a significant impact on a person’s quality of life. By carrying out a biopsy before surgery, a diagnosis can be confirmed and a decision can be made that surgery is unnecessary if the lesion poses no risk to the health of the patient.

It is estimated that at least 600 people a year with renal lesions 4cm in diameter or smaller currently have a biopsy, a procedure where a small sample of tissue or cells is removed and tested to determine if they are cancerous.

The recommendations in the new draft guideline could see the number of biopsies increase to around 1,200 procedures a year, thereby reducing the number of unnecessary surgeries for benign lesions and allowing healthcare professionals and patients to take a more informed approach.

Read the full story HERE