As recommended by NICE trastuzumab or Herceptin could be presented to those patients who are suffering from gastric cancer as part of combined therapy.

NICE expressed its opinion during the final guidance that those who suffer from metastatic adenocarcinoma of the stomach along with gastro-esophageal junction and have extremely high counts of epidermal growth factor receptor 2 could be administered trastuzumab along with cisplatin.

Such patients could also be given capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil in case they have not been treated earlier for this metastatic illness.

Such a recommendation by NICE could mean that almost 350 patients out of 7700 people could be administered trastuzumab if they have gastric cancer in the UK every year. This will also prolong the survival rate by a median of
5.6 months for this sub-group of patients.

Another advanced analysis was being considered by NICE to test the benefits of the drugs in patients with the highest HER2 levels before reaching the final decision that trastuzumab is a cost-effective drug for this treatment.