How the pill works to prevent breast cancer – 11/08/2023 – Balance and Health

Tens of thousands of women in England could benefit from a drug that helps prevent breast cancer. Anastrozole, used for many years to treat the disease, has now been licensed as an option for preventing the disease.

Recent studies show that the drug can reduce the incidence of breast cancer by almost 50% in women who have already gone through menopause and are at moderate or high risk of the disease.

Health trusts in England said the authorization was “a huge step forward” for women with a significant family history of cancer.

It is estimated that 289,000 women could be eligible for the drug in England alone.

In Brazil, the medicine, sold in pharmacies, is authorized for the treatment of the disease — and not for preventive use.

Use could prevent 2,000 cases of breast cancer in England, according to the NHS (English public health system), which could save the health service 15 million pounds in treatment costs.

From now on, any woman concerned about a higher than normal risk of breast cancer can contact her GP, who can refer her to a specialist for a full risk assessment, taking into account her family history.

Anastrozole is not patented, which means that more than one company can manufacture it and the drug can be distributed quite cheaply. In Brazil, generic medicine costs around R$30.

First recommended as a preventative option by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in 2017, the use of anastrozole in this way has now been licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency as part of the UK’s drug repurposing program. NHS.

Lesley-Ann Woodhams, 61, has just completed a five-year course of one anastrozole tablet a day.

Making this decision was “an easy decision, as I saw my mother fight breast cancer”, he says.

“I could live without constantly worrying or thinking about what might happen if I developed breast cancer,” says Lesley-Ann.

“It was truly a gift. It gave my family and myself peace of mind and, most importantly, a future to look forward to.”

Professor Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that the drug is a “very attractive” prospect for those at high risk of breast cancer.

He said scientific research indicated the drug was effective in protecting against the disease and had fewer side effects than tamoxifen, which was already available as a preventative treatment in the UK.

“People have been particularly concerned about blood clots and also, in some cases, the development of endometrial cancer [quando tomam tamoxifeno]. Anastrozole doesn’t seem to do that, so it’s a more attractive idea,” says Johnson.

But there is still a risk of some side effects of the drug, which can be similar to menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes, nausea, arthritis, headache and weakness.

The NHS has advised patients experiencing side effects to speak to their doctor or pharmacist.

Anastrozole works by blocking an enzyme called aromatase to reduce the hormone estrogen.

The treatment is administered in 1 mg tablets, once a day, for five years. The preventative effect lasts for years after a woman stops taking the drug, British authorities said.

“Extending anastrozole’s license to cover its use as a risk reduction treatment is a big step that will allow more eligible women with a significant family history of breast cancer to reduce their chance of developing the disease,” said Delyth Morgan, chief executive of Breast Cancer Now.

Breast cancer is the most common in England, with more than 47,000 people diagnosed each year.

In Brazil, according to the National Cancer Institute (Inca), there are 73.6 thousand cases per year. Eighteen thousand deaths from breast cancer are expected each year in Brazil. Eight out of ten of these cases are diagnosed in women over 50 years of age.

Women with a mutation in one of the BRCA genes are at risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.

Most women in the UK have a 15% chance of developing the disease in their lifetime, but this increases significantly if they have the mutation.

In every 100 women who have a mutation in the BRCA1 gene:

• 65 to 85 years old will develop breast cancer during their lifetime (65 to 85% lifetime risk)

• 40 to 63 years old will develop ovarian cancer (40 to 63% lifetime risk)

In every 100 women who have a mutation in the BRCA2 gene:

• 40 to 85 years old will have breast cancer in their lifetime (40 to 85% lifetime risk)

• 10 to 27 years will develop ovarian cancer (10 to 27% lifetime risk)

Women with BRCA mutations are also more likely to develop breast cancer at younger ages.

If the patient has a family history of cancer, they can undergo a genetic test to find out whether they inherited these genes.

England’s Health Minister Will Quince said he was “delighted” that the drug had been approved to “help prevent this cruel disease”.

“We have already seen the positive effect that anastrozole can have in treating the disease when it was detected in postmenopausal women and now we can use it to prevent its development in some women,” he added.

NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard says the licensing of anastrozole “represents the first step in ensuring the risk reduction option can be accessed by everyone who can benefit from it”.