500,000 women at higher risk of cancer denied 6p prevention pill because GPs aren’t clued up on latest research
Only a quarter of doctors are aware of NHS guidelines saying high risk patients should be offered the life-saving drugs
GPs are denying hundreds of thousands of women a cheap cancer prevention pill because they are not keeping up to date with the latest research, a study reveals.
Tamoxifen costs just 6p a day and can cut the chance of breast tumours by a third.
Experts estimate around 500,000 higher-risk women could benefit – but only a fraction receive the life-saving treatment.
They blame poor awareness among GPs for many missing out.
Only a quarter of family medics are aware of NHS guidelines saying higher-risk patients should be offered tamoxifen.
And half did not even know the drug can prevent breast cancer.
Charities said the findings were extremely “worrying”.
Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, said: “It is extremely concerning that many women at an increased risk of breast cancer are still not being offered the choice of taking tamoxifen to reduce their risk.
“The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s 2013 guideline recommended that it be offered to all women at medium and high risk of the disease.
“But unfortunately this is largely not being adhered to, with many GPs lacking confidence in discussing the option with patients and a worrying number not even being aware of it.”
Breast cancer strikes around 55,000 women a year in the UK – and kills 12,000.
Research from 2014 found only a 1,000 patients were getting tamoxifen to prevent the disease in the first place.
Women are classified as higher-risk if they have a family history of the disease or carry a faulty gene.
Leeds University researchers quizzed 928 family doctors on prescribing tamoxifen.
Many were uncomfortable about offering the treatment.
But they found the majority of GPs would give women the drug – but only if a hospital consultant had done so first.
Lead researcher Dr Samuel Smith, from Leeds University, said: “GPs are overrun with information and every day a new report lands on their desk – so it’s challenging to keep pace with every new development.
“It’s crucial that the NHS finds ways to increase GP awareness of what’s available and ensure patients who could benefit from cancer-preventing drugs get them.”
And Cancer Research UK warns GPs are currently failing to prescribe prevention drugs.
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Professor Arnie Purushotham, Cancer Research UK’s senior clinical adviser, said: “Cancer-preventing drugs have the potential to have a huge impact by reducing the risk of cancer developing in the first place.
“This report reveals that it’s vital that GPs are given the right support and information so they are confident to explore the value of these drugs with those who would benefit from them.”
Tamoxifen is mainly used to stop tumours returning in patients who have already had breast cancer.
It has side-effects similar to menopause and raises the risk of endometrial cancer.
Younger women are also unable to start a family while being treated.
Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said it is important family medics are aware of clinical guidelines.
She added: “It’s understandable that family doctors often take cues from our specialist colleagues in hospitals – so improved communication channels between GP and hospital care would certainly be helpful.”