Sofiia Shunkina/ Alamy Stock Photo
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended an immunotherapy for adults whose stomach cancer has not spread extensively and can be removed through surgery for use on the NHS in England.
In final draft guidance published on 14 May 2026, NICE approved durvalumab (Imfinzi; AstraZeneca) in combination with fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin and docetaxel (FLOT) chemotherapy, where it blocks the PD-L1 protein and allows the immune system to identify and attack cancer cells.
In a press release published alongside the final draft guidance, NICE said the new treatment, which is given by IV infusion every four weeks, is expected to benefit more than 1,500 people per year in England.
NICE said that currently, patients with gastric and gastro-oesophageal junction cancer are often diagnosed at an advanced stage, while the cancer frequently returns after surgery. Under current treatments, only around half of people survive five years after diagnosis, it added.
According to the results of a phase III clinical trial, published in June 2025 and funded by AstraZeneca, durvalumab with FLOT was found to offer a greater chance of two-year event-free survival (67.4% among the participants in the durvalumab group compared with 58.5% among those in the placebo group).
It also offered a greater chance of two-year overall survival (75.7% in the durvalumab group and 70.4% in the placebo group), the trial results revealed.
Durvalumab with FLOT is already used to treat other forms of cancer and was recommended to treat stomach cancer just 17 days after its authorisation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
NICE said that it used its “light-touch” assessment process for durvalumab, which means that “patients will get access to the treatment faster than if the standard process had been used”.
Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation at NICE, commented: “Stomach cancer is a devastating disease with high rates of recurrence after surgery, so there is an urgent need for treatments like durvalumab that meaningfully extend both the length and quality of patients’ lives.”
“Being able to recommend this drug faster through our streamlined process will benefit thousands of people with this aggressive form of cancer,” she added.
Sheena Dewan, executive director at Stomach Cancer UK, said: “This is the first major advance in curative-intent treatment for stomach cancer in nearly a decade.
“Adding immunotherapy to perioperative chemotherapy offers a real opportunity for lower recurrence and longer survival. For too long, patients have been enduring the dual burden of life-altering surgery and high rates of recurrence.
“This treatment gives individuals and families living with the constant fear that the cancer will return a meaningful opportunity for more time with loved ones, more time at work and more time to live well beyond treatment. We are grateful to NICE for its careful consideration of the evidence and for recognising the importance of progress in a cancer that has historically had limited available treatment options.”
