NCCN Guidelines to Include Categories of Preference

NCCN categories of preference will provide guidance on which recommendations within the NCCN Guidelines are optimal, while providing a range of recommendations to accommodate a variety of clinical circumstances.

News provided by

National Comprehensive Cancer Network

Sep 15, 2017, 12:00 ET

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa., Sept. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®) has instituted Categories of Preference for recommendations within the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines^®). Initially, Categories of Preference will be published for drugs and biologics recommended within the NCCN Guidelines^® for Multiple Myeloma. Additional cancer types are forthcoming.

All recommendations in the NCCN Guidelines are considered appropriate. The Categories of Preference are:

Preferred intervention: Interventions that are based on superior efficacy, safety, and evidence; and, when appropriate, affordability
Other recommended intervention: Other interventions that may be somewhat less efficacious, more toxic, or based on less mature data; or significantly less affordable for similar outcomes
Useful in certain circumstances: Other interventions that may be used for selected patient populations (defined with recommendation)

Multiple NCCN Guidelines have historically included preferred and other recommended interventions; Categories of Preference will provide consistency in guidance across Guidelines for shared decision-making.

The goals of the NCCN Categories of Preference are to stratify Guidelines to clarify panel and institutional preference for interventions, to provide guidance to users of Guidelines on which recommendations are considered optimal, and to continue to provide a wide range of recommendations to meet varying clinical circumstances and patient preferences.

Transparency of NCCN Guidelines and Compendia development is central to the philosophy, policies, and procedures of NCCN. NCCN posts the policies and processes for developing and maintaining the NCCN Guidelines. These policies are available to the public on the NCCN website. Identification of newly published research, NCCN Member Institution review, external stakeholder submissions, and panel review occur on an ongoing basis with at least annual review performed for NCCN Guidelines for each disease.

For more information about the NCCN Categories of Preference, click here.

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®), a not-for-profit alliance of 27 leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education, is dedicated to improving the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of cancer care so that patients can live better lives. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers.

The NCCN Member Institutions are: Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, Omaha, NE; Case Comprehensive Cancer Center/University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland, OH; City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA; Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center | Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA; Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA; The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD; Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL; Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ, Jacksonville, FL, and Rochester, MN; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL; The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, OH; Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; St. Jude Children's Research Hospital/The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN; Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford, CA; University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL; UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, CA; UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA; University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, CO; University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, WI; Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN; and Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital, New Haven, CT.