Last month, the UK National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) approved the use of the taxanes docetaxel and paclitaxel for the second-line treatment of advanced breast cancer.1The institute's guidance was based partly on the results of a modelling study comparing the cost utility of docetaxel with that of paclitaxel or vinorelbine in this indication. The study, conducted by researchers at MEDTAP International, showed that docetaxel provides an incremental quality-adjusted survival benefit for an acceptable incremental cost, compared with the other two agents.2The results of the study were announced at a 'podium' session at the 5th Annual International Meeting of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research [Arlington, Virginia, US; May 2000].