The NCCN guidelines development process and infrastructure

Abstract

A major task of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) is to develop pathways reflecting the major step-by-step management decisions required to provide care for patients with cancer. The determination of what is appropriate care involves assessing the balance between the sum of the benefits compared to the sum of the risks. The guidelines are composed of recommendations based on the best evidence available at the time they are derived. Each guideline is reviewed annually and once revisions have been uniformly accepted, the new version becomes the official NCCN guideline for that year.