NCCN Expands Disclosure Policy

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa., June 4, 2008 � The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), an alliance of 21 of the world�s leading cancer centers, will expand its current disclosure process and make public all potential conflicts of interest of all individual expert panel members by the end of 2008. This information will begin to appear online at www.nccn.org in July.

The NCCN began to expand its disclosure procedures for its NCCN Drugs and Biologics Compendium� and its NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology� in January 2008 with development of a new Identification and Disclosure of Relationships with External Entities Form and a new Policy on Disclosure of Relationships with External Entities. These documents were filed in February 2008 as part of NCCN�s request to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for recognition of the NCCN Drugs and Biologics Compendium�.

�Historically, the NCCN has disclosed the names of companies with whom there are relationships,� said Dr. William McGivney, CEO of the NCCN. �We now will apply that to individuals so that the public may better use the scientific, evaluative information that we provide.�

The new policy continues NCCN�s commitment to public transparency. The Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee has already recognized the NCCN Drugs and Biologics Compendium� as the leader with respect to the public transparency of the process for evaluating therapies and for the identification, notification and management of potential conflicts of interests among the six drug compendia companies.

"More than 900 top medical specialists, including many of our nation�s leading oncologists and cancer biomedical researchers, contribute their expertise on a volunteer basis to the development of the evidence-based NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology�,� McGivney said. �The task of providing accurate disclosure of their potential conflicts is a large and critical task.�

NCCN will continue to carefully evaluate its conflicts of interest policies to meet fair and reasonable standards of transparency. NCCN�s goal is to contribute to more fully informed and improved decision making on behalf of patients we serve.

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®), a not-for-profit alliance of 23 of the world's leading cancer centers, is dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer. 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 primary goal of all NCCN initiatives is to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of oncology practice so patients can live better lives. For more information, visit NCCN.org.

The NCCN Member Institutions are:

City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center
Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
Duke Cancer Institute
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center / Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins
Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Moffitt Cancer Center
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital/The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Stanford Cancer Institute
University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center
UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of Colorado Cancer Center
University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center
UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center