Thousands to be offered drug that can halve breast cancer risk
A drug that helps prevent breast cancer is being made available to nearly 300,000 women in England.
Anastrozole is a treatment for hormone-sensitive breast cancer. It has now been approved as a preventative option for post-menopausal women at increased risk of developing the disease.
The decision is based on evidence from the international IBIS-II study. This showed the drug can halve this risk, with minimal side effects.
Dozens of people took part in this research at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS).
Most common type of cancer
Breast cancer is Britain’s most common cancer with around 55,000 new cases each year. About one in seven women in the UK will develop the disease in their lifetime.
Most cases are in women over the age of 50, but younger women are also affected.
The new treatment will be taken as a single tablet once a day for five years. It works by blocking an enzyme called aromatase to reduce the hormone oestrogen.
If just a quarter of the newly eligible women come forward, around 2,000 cases of breast cancer could be prevented.
Ramsey Cutress, a Professor of Breast Surgery at the University of Southampton and Consultant Breast Surgeon at UHS, was the local lead for the trial. He said:
“We are grateful to all those who take part in research which makes advances such as this possible.
“Survival from breast cancer has doubled since the 1970’s. Much of this is due to clinical research trials leading to improvements in treatments, and we now have further options for prevention.
“The whole breast research team did an amazing job working on this study. Thank you to the 66 people participating in the trial in Southampton, far exceeding our original estimate of 25.”
Promising results
Anastrozole was first recommended as a preventative option by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2017.
Over 4,000 women took part in the IBIS-II study at 153 breast cancer treatment centres across 18 countries. They were randomly allocated to two groups.
Half took anastrozole every day for five years, while the other half took a placebo. The results showed that those who took anastrozole had a 49% lower risk of developing breast cancer.
Research has also found that the protective effect lasts for years after a woman has stopped taking the drug.
Anastrozole is the first drug to be repurposed through NHS England's medicines-repurposing programme.
The authorisation for prevention in post-menopausal women was announced this week by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).