A new pill which could potentially halve incidents of breast cancer is to be rolled out across the country after being approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
Anastrozole id a hormone treatment used for breast cancer in post-menopausal women.
The drug was already authorised for use in the treatment of breast cancer in post-menopausal women and has been used off-label for prevention.
Today’s announcement confirms the authorisation for prevention in post-menopausal women at moderate or high risk of developing the disease.
Evidence was based on the IBIS-II study, an international, randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, which showed fewer women developed breast cancer in the anastrozole group compared to the placebo group.
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK. Most women diagnosed with breast cancer are over the age of 50, but younger women can also get breast cancer. Around 1 in 7 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
The treatment is taken as a 1mg tablet, once a day for 5 years.
Anastrozole is an aromatase inhibitor. This works by cutting down the amount of the hormone oestrogen that a patient’s body makes by blocking an enzyme called ‘aromatase’.
The most common side effects of the medicine are hot flushes, feeling weak, pain/stiffness in the joints, arthritis, skin rash, nausea, headache, osteoporosis, and depression.
Amanda Pritchard, head of the NHS, says the first-of-its-kind programme heralds “a new era for cancer prevention”.
