A daily pill that could cut the risk of developing breast cancer by half is to be offered to 300,000 at-risk women.
The preventative pill is set to be rolled out on the NHS to help women live “free of breast cancer”. Studies have shown that anastrozole, which is ordinarily used as a treatment for women suffering from breast cancer, can cut the probability of developing the cancer by 49 per cent if taken daily for five years. The drug will be offered to nearly 300,000 women in England who are considered at moderate or high risk of the disease.
The drug is off-patent so it can be reproduced by multiple companies. Regulators Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency have approved the drug, making it the first medicine to be repurposed through an NHS programme. “It's fantastic that this vital risk-reducing option could now help thousands of women and their families avoid the distress of a breast cancer diagnosis,” the head of the NHS, Amanda Pritchard, said.
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