Test reveals cancer risk
FOR the first time Australian women can find out their personal risk of developing breast cancer and discover if they are a candidate for a drug that could halve their chance of getting the disease.
A new online tool devel- oped by oncologist and breast cancer expert Prof Kelly-Anne Phillips aims to slash the 18,000 cases of breast cancer diagnosed each year by encouraging women to know their risk and how to address it.
The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre will today launch the online “iPrevent” calculator that asks a series of ques- tions about lifestyle and family cancer history to determine a person’s personalised breast cancer risk profile.
Professor Phillips wants every woman to assess their risk of breast cancer from age 30 and if they are at high risk think about using medication or have a genetic test.
The instant online report compares the individual woman’s risk to the average risk and also provides personalised advice on what she can do to reduce her risk. Lifestyle changes such as weight loss, exercise and drinking less alcohol can reduce most women’s breast cancer risk.
Some women with a strong family history of hormone re- ceptor positive cancer will be informed they could be among the 5 per cent of women who are a candidate for a breast cancer preventing treatment called Tamoxifen.
Tamoxifen, a medication previously used as a treatment for women with breast cancer, has now been approved to prevent cancer in women at high risk and Professor Phillips wants more women to use it.
“Tamoxifen is an anti-oestrogen medication and there is high quality evidence in 28,000 women that it reduced their breast cancer risk by half,” says Professor KellyAnne Phillips.
It has side effects including hot flushes and night sweats.