The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have this morning issued new guidance for the treatment of brain tumour patients. 

NICE has said a chemical dye, which can assist neurosurgeons in the successful removal of a brain tumour, should be used in initial surgery. 

Other recommendations include:

• Use targeted radiotherapy to reduce the risk of damage to the rest of the brain.
• Encourage referral to neurological rehabilitation assessment of physical, cognitive, and emotional function during all stages of treatment.
• The NHS should not offer tumour treating fields (TTF) as part of management of recurrent high-grade glioma because they are not cost effective.

Consultant Neurosurgeon Professor Garth Cruickshank, the Chair of our Scientific and Medical Advisory Board (SMAB), who was involved as clinical lead in the production of these guidelines, told us, “This guideline, for the first time, provides the structure for treating patients with meningiomas and metastatic disease representing both the need for rapid access to care as well as the need for ongoing, even lifetime support for those surviving with brain tumours.”