Drug could cut breast cancer by 50%

Let's check in with the world of medicine. In what has been described as a major step forward by charities, a drug has now been licensed to act as a preventative option for women at risk of breast cancer. Here's more on the story.

Anastrozole is a drug that is already used as treatment for breast cancer, and now it will be offered to thousands of women in England who are at risk of developing the disease to act as a preventative measure.

Trials indicate that the drug could reduce breast cancer rates in post-menopausal women at moderate or high risk, by up to fifty percent. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK, and eight out of ten people diagnosed are women over fifty. Around eleven thousand people die from the disease every year.

It is believed that nearly three hundred thousand women in England are eligible for the drug, and its use could help to prevent illness and death, as well as ease some of the financial pressures on the NHS. Charities have said the news is a major step forward.