Almost 300,000 women will be offered drugs to reduce their risk of developing breast cancer, NHS officials have announced.
Postmenopausal women in England who are considered to be at medium or high risk of breast cancer are offered anastrozole to prevent the development of breast cancer. Studies have shown that the drug reduces the incidence of breast cancer by 49 percent over 11 years in eligible women.
Officials estimate that if 25 per cent of England’s 289,000 eligible women took up the offer – with half taking the drug for the recommended five years – 2,000 cases could be prevented in their lifetime .
Scientists have discovered that anastrozole, a hormone therapy, can not only treat breast cancer, but also prevent breast cancer. The protective effect lasts for years after a woman stops taking the drug, officials say.
The drug is commonly used to treat breast cancer, but is also being repurposed for breast cancer prevention. It is the first medicine to go through the NHS England drug repurposing programme.
The measures add to the NHS’s arsenal of breast cancer preventive drugs, including tamoxifen and raloxifene, which are already approved to prevent breast cancer.
Anastrozole was first recommended as a prophylactic treatment by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) in 2017, but because the drug is not approved for this use, its use has remained low. The drug has now also been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency as a preventative treatment.
Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of the NHS, said: “It is fantastic that this life-saving risk-reducing option can now help thousands of women and their families avoid the pain associated with a breast cancer diagnosis.”
“Helping more women live healthier, breast cancer-free lives is truly remarkable, and we hope that today’s licensing of Anastrozole for a new use is the first step in ensuring that this risk-reducing option is available to everyone” who can benefit benefit from it.”
“This is the first medicine to be repurposed as part of a world-leading new program that will help us realize the full potential of existing medicines in new applications to save and improve more lives in the NHS.”
“Through this initiative, we hope that greater access to anastrozole will enable more women to take risk-reducing measures if they so choose, so they can live without the fear of breast cancer.”
Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive of the charity Breast Cancer Now, said: “Extending the approval of Anastrozole for use as a risk-reducing treatment is an important step forward, enabling more eligible women with a significant family history of breast cancer to have their breasts reduced. . cancer, “their chance of contracting the disease.”
Treatment is taken with a 1 mg tablet once a day for five years. Anastrozole reduces the amount of estrogen produced by the patient’s body by blocking the aromatase enzyme.
The most common side effects of the drug are hot flashes, weakness, joint pain/stiffness, arthritis, rash, nausea, headache, osteoporosis and depression. Around 47,000 women in England are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.
Health Secretary Will Ivins said: “Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK, so I am pleased that another effective drug has now been approved to help prevent this devastating disease.” Treatment for the disease can be given if it is found in postmenopausal women, and we can now use it to stop it developing in some women altogether.”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.