Guidance

Update information

Update information

This guideline is an update of NICE cancer service guidance on improving outcomes in haematological cancers (published October 2003).

New recommendations have been added for the role of integrated diagnostic reporting and the staffing and levels of care needed to treat haematological cancer.

These are marked as:

  • [new 2016] if the evidence has been reviewed and the recommendation has been added or updated

  • [2016] if the evidence has been reviewed but no change has been made to the recommended action.

The NICE cancer service guidance on improving outcomes in haematological cancers (2003) was developed using very different methods to the current NICE guideline development process. The 2003 guidance presented recommendations in a paragraph format. The Guideline Committee highlighted some sections of the original guidance as still relevant to clinical practice, and other sections as out of date. Recommendations that are no longer relevant have been deleted. Recommendations that are still relevant to clinical practice have been transferred as individual recommendations labelled [2003], and the evidence for these has not been reviewed.

We have also made some changes without an evidence review:

  • Recommendation 1.3.3 was updated to include a reference to the World Health Organization criteria, so it is clearer how all haematological cancers are defined.

  • Recommendation 1.3.9 was updated in line with current practice and the 2016 recommendations in this guideline, and to state that MDT members can attend meetings remotely.

  • Recommendations 1.3.17 and 1.3.18 were updated in line with the 2016 recommendations in this guideline.

  • Recommendation 1.3.27 had a reference to 'networks' removed, as these no longer exist.

  • Recommendation 1.3.31 had a reference to BCSH levels of care removed as these are no longer applicable.

  • Recommendation 1.3.32 was updated in line with the 2016 recommendations in this guideline.

These recommendations are marked [2003, amended 2016].

This is an exception to NICE's standard guideline development process and has been done so that relevant recommendations in the chapter not being updated could be carried across into this update.

ISBN: 978-1-4731-1867-6