UK Women With Breast Cancer At Risk Of Missing Out On Optimal Care

Main Category: Breast Cancer
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 06 Oct 2008 - 2:00 PST

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Postmenopausal women in the UK could be unknowingly missing out on optimal follow-up treatment for breast cancer, according to research presented today at the annual National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference. Over 70 per cent of 100 leading breast cancer hospitals have failed to conduct audits which would ensure that suitable women are getting access to an aromatase inhibitor (AI) after being on tamoxifen for two to three years, in line with NICE guidance issued two years ago.

In 2006, NICE issued guidance recommending that postmenopausal women with oestrogen receptor-positive early breast cancer who are currently on tamoxifen are switched to an aromatase inhibitor exemestane (AromasinTM) after two to three years. This guidance was based on evidence from the IES trial, which demonstrated that switching to exemestane has been shown to reduce the relative risk of dying by 17 per cent, compared with remaining on tamoxifen for five years.

Breast cancer facts:

- Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the UK, with more than 45,600 women diagnosed every year

- Breast cancer risk is strongly related to age, with more than 80 per cent of cases occurring in women over 50 years old

- The highest number of cases of breast cancer diagnosed is in the 50-69 age group

(Source: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org)

Spokespeople
Mr Anthony Skene
Consultant Surgeon
Royal Bournemouth Hospital NHS FT

Dr Mary McCormack
Consultant Clinical Oncologist
University College London

National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference