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Daily Drug May Aid Women at Risk of Breast Cancer

Posted on: Tuesday, 14 June 2005, 09:00 CDT

Taking a daily dose of a cancer-killing drug could protect women against breast cancer, reducing the number of women who undergo radical surgery to prevent the disease.

A 10-year world-wide trial is being launched today to discover whether a drug used to treat breast cancer can also stop some women from getting the disease later in life.

The move comes as a survey of more than 1,500 women around the world found that one in five would consider having a radical double mastectomy if they were told they faced a high risk of the disease.

This figure rose to one in three of UK women.

The survey, by Cancer Research UK which included almost 250 women in Britain, found that almost half of those questioned were concerned about developing breast cancer.

When asked about taking part in a trial to investigate a preventative treatment for breast cancer, 50% of women said they would consider it.

About 45% also said they would consider taking a daily tablet to help prevent breast cancer.

The IBIS-II trial - one of the first worldwide preventative trials - has been launched by scientists to investigate whether the drug anastrozole- also known as Arimidex - which is already used to treat breast cancer, can also be able to prevent it.

About 6,000 post-menopausal women around the world will be recruited to the trial, and the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff, has been named as one of 40 centres.

Professor Jack Cuzick, Cancer Research UK's lead researcher on the trial, said, 'The IBIS-II study is extremely important for women with an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

'It is vitally important that women come forward to participate in the trial.

'It could provide them with a valuable option in helping to control breast cancer.

'Many of us already take medications to prevent heart disease so just imagine the possibilities if, in the future, we could use a simple, once-a-day medication, to reduce the occurrence of breast cancer.

'For those women faced with the reality of being at high risk of developing breast cancer, this trial has the potential to change their lives.'

Around 30,000 post-menopausal women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK annually.

Researchers believe that anastrozole could reduce the risk of breast cancer in these older women by more than 50%.

The trial follows the successful IBIS-I study which showed that tamoxifen reduces the incidence of breast cancer by a third in women at a higher risk of the disease.

During trials of anastrozole as a treatment for early breast cancer, researchers noticed that women taking the drug were around 40% less likely to be diagnosed with a second cancer in the opposite breast compared to women taking tamoxifen.

Like tamoxifen, anastrozole works by interfering with the female hormone oestrogen - the most important cause of breast cancer.

Prof Cuzick said, 'With over 30,000 post-menopausal women being diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK every year, it's vital that we look for effective ways of preventing the disease.'

Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, added, 'It is extremely rare for women to undergo a double mastectomy for preventive reasons.

'And as an option, it is most relevant to women with a very strong family history of breast cancer.

'The global launch of IBIS-II aims to provide women with a new, far less radical option for preventing breast cancer at a time when numbers of women being diagnosed with the disease and concern about it is so high.

'Through trials like this, women and researchers are working together to help discover clear and safe options for helping to prevent breast cancer.'

More information on the trial is available at the IBIS website - www.ibis-trials.org - or CancerHelp UK at www.cancerhelp.org.uk What's the difference?: Both anastrozole and tamoxifen have an affect on the female hormone oestrogen, which is one of the most important factors in breast cancer.

Tamoxifen works by preventing the action of oestrogen on the cells of the breast while maintaining the beneficial effects of oestrogen on bone.

But tamoxifen, which was extensively tested in Wales, also produces oestrogen-like effects on the cells of the womb lining and has been linked to a slightly higher rate of endometrial cancer and a tendency to thrombosis (blood clots).

Unlike tamoxifen, anastrozole prevents the production of oestrogen in post-menopausal women and seems to have fewer side effects.

It is one of a group of drugs called aromatase inhibitors.

In post-menopausal women, an enzyme called aromatase is the main source of oestrogen. Aromatase inhibitors block the action of aromatase, reducing the levels of oestrogen in the body.

Compared to tamoxifen, women taking anastrozole experience fewer hot flushes.

But the drug, trade name Arimidex, does not have the same beneficial effects as tamoxifen has on bones, a factor that will be closely monitored in the IBIS-II trial.

Source: Western Mail

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