News alert / Breast cancer drug licensed for prevention
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has licensed Anastrozole, which has for years been used as a breast cancer treatment, as a preventive option in England. Trials of the off-patent drug, part of a medicines repurposing programme led by NHS England, have shown it reduces the incidence of the cancer among post-menopausal women at increased risk of the disease by almost 50%. It was recommended as a preventive option by NICE in 2017, but as it was unlicensed in this use, uptake has remained low. Now, around 289,000 women at moderate or high risk of breast cancer could be eligible for the drug. It is estimated that if 25% take it, around 2,000 cases of breast cancer could be prevented in England, saving the NHS around £15m in treatment costs.
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