Almost 300,000 women will be offered a drug to reduce their risk of developing breast cancer, NHS officials have announced.
Some 289,000 post-menopausal women in England who are deemed to have a moderate or high risk of breast cancer will be offered anastrozole in a bid to prevent them from developing the disease.
Trials have shown that the drug reduces breast cancer cases by 49 per cent over 11 years among eligible women.
Officials have estimated that if 25 per cent of eligible women in England take up the offer – and half of those take the drug for the recommended five years – then 2,000 cases would be prevented.
Scientists have found that, as well as treating breast cancer, anastrozole – a hormone therapy – also can prevent cases.
And the protective effect lasts for years after a woman has stopped taking the drug, officials said.
The drug is usually used to treat breast cancer but has been “repurposed” to also prevent cases.
It is the first drug to go through NHS England’s Medicines Repurposing Programme.
But what do we know about the drug?
What is anastrozole?
Arimidex is the brand name for anastrozole.
It is a type of hormone treatment and works by lowering the levels of oestrogen hormones in the body.
The NHS has a lot of information on its website and says: "It is mainly prescribed for women who have been through the menopause and have a type of cancer called hormone-dependent breast cancer. It can sometimes also be used:
- to prevent breast cancer if you are high risk and have been through the menopause
- to treat breast cancer in men
- to treat breast cancer in younger women before the menopause
- as a fertility treatment if you have polycystic ovary syndrome
Most people who take anastrozole will have had surgery, radiotherapy, or sometimes chemotherapy to treat their breast cancer first.
Anastrozole is available on prescription only. It comes as tablets.
How does it work?
Anastrozole is a hormone drug that works by lowering the levels of oestrogen hormones in the body, which is a sex hormone.
Oestrogen stimulates some breast cancers to grow and is known more as a female hormone, but men also have a small amount. These breast cancers are called hormone-sensitive or hormone-receptor positive. Anastrozole aims to stop or slow the growth of these cancers.
What are the side effects?
Macmillan say there are a range of side effects and the drug should not usually be used by women who are still having periods.
Hot flushes are common while going through treatment, as are muscle and joint pain, nausea, headaches, skin changes, bone thinning, low mood and depression, and a loss of appetite.
Other less common symptoms can include hair thinning, changes to your liver, and raised cholesterol levels.
For more information on the side effects and the full list you can visit Macmillan here.
