Drug that cuts breast cancer risk set for wider use in UK
An oral medicine called anastrozole has been approved by the UK’s drug regulatory agency for reducing the risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women at moderate-to-high risk of the condition
By Clare Wilson
7 November 2023
Regularly attending mammograms can reduce the risk of dying from breast cancer
AMELIE-BENOIST/Alamy
Post-menopausal women in the UK who are at a higher risk of breast cancer may soon have wider access to a medicine called anastrozole to reduce their chance of developing it.
The drug, which is taken as tablets and was first developed as a treatment for breast cancer, halves the risk of the condition if taken for five years.
Anastrozole may already be used for prevention in those without breast cancer on an “off label” basis in many countries, including the US, but uptake is low. Now, the UK has become the first country where it has been approved for prevention.
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This should encourage more family doctors to prescribe the drug, says Jack Cuzick at Queen Mary University of London, who was involved in a trial of anastrozole. “It will help doctors and women realise that it is an approved [use] and the benefits outweigh the risks.”
But anastrozole’s side effects – which are the same as severe menopausal symptoms, such as aching joints and hot flushes – can put people off taking it, says Liz O’Riordan, a UK breast cancer surgeon who has taken the drug herself. “It can be really hard.”
Post-menopausal women would be eligible to take anastrozole if they are at moderate or high risk of breast cancer, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said on 6 November.
