The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee has recommended new and extended PBS listings for several oncology drugs including treatments for prostate cancer, breast cancer, and gastrointestinal stromal tumour.

At its July meeting the PBAC recommended the listing of darolutamide (Nubeqa, Bayer) for the treatment of patients with non-metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (m0CRPC).

Nivolumab (Opdivo) received a recommendation for PBS listing for second line squamous cell oesophageal carcinoma (OSCC) that has failed treatment with a fluoropyrimidine and platinum containing treatment regimen.

And for patients with HR+, HER2- advanced or metastatic breast cancer the PBAC recommended the listing of palbociclib (Ibrance) tablets on the PBS under the same conditions as the existing listings for palbociclib capsules.

Other treatments that received positive recommendations included ripretinib (Qinlock) for  the treatment of metastatic or unresectable malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) and trabectedin (Yondelis) for advanced (unresectable and/or metastatic) leiomyosarcoma (LMS) following a prior anthracycline-containing regime.

However the PBAC rejected an application to  relax the PBS indication for enzalutamide (Xtandi) and abiraterone (Zytiga) in castration resistant carcinoma to remove criteria that the disease be metastatic.

The PBAC also decided not to recommend niraparib (Zejula) for women with newly diagnosed advanced, high-grade epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer (HGEOC), who are in response to platinum-based chemotherapy

The committee  deferred a decision on a PBS listing for lorlatinib (Lorviqua, Pfizer) for first-line treatment of locally advanced (Stage IIIB) or metastatic (Stage IV) ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer in patients who have not received prior treatment with an ALK inhibitor.