January 2009

Cancer patients eligible to apply for free prescriptions

From 1 April 2009, all cancer patients will be eligible for free NHS prescriptions covering all treatments, not just those related to their cancer.
The scheme is available to those undergoing treatment for cancer, the effects of cancer or the effects of cancer treatment.
Patients need to get an application form from their GP’s surgery or oncology clinic. The form must be signed by the patient and their GP, hospital doctor or service doctor.
The certificate lasts for 5 years and can be renewed as many times as necessary, as long as the patient still satisfies the qualifying conditions.
If you haven’t got a certificate yet, ask for a refund form whenever you pay for a prescription after April 1. When you receive your certificate, you can reclaim that money, but note that after April 1, any certificates issued will only be backdated to begin one month prior to receipt of application.
It is estimated that up to 150,000 people will benefit from this scheme, with individuals saving up to £100 each year in prescription charges.

Source: www.nhs.uk

Drinking tea can cut risk of breast cancer

In January 2009, various newspapers reported that drinking 3 cups of tea a day could cut the risk of younger women developing breast cancer on the basis that the anti cancer properties of tea could have a more potent effect on the types of tumours commonly seen in younger women.
The claim was based on a case-control study of 5,000 women aged 20-74, who had been treated for breast cancer. These women were interviewed on their consumption of tea over the 5 years prior to their cancer being diagnosed and their responses were compared with those of 4,500 healthy women, with similar medical histories and lifestyles.
While the authors say that tea consumption is not related to breast cancer risk overall, they report that in their sub group analyses, women under 50, who drank 3 or more cups of tea a day, had a 37% reduced breast cancer risk compared to women reporting no tea consumption. The researchers said that while further research was needed on this issue, their results provide support for the theory that ‘regular tea consumption, particularly at moderately high levels, might reduce breast cancer risk in younger women’.
The research was conducted by Dr Nagi Kumar of the Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, Florida and colleagues from various other institutions and published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
The view of the NHS Knowledge Service is that while this study is interesting, they should not provide the basis by which people decide what to drink and that the research should be seen as low-level evidence .

Sources and References:
www.nhs.uk/news
‘Tea Consumption and Risk of Breast Cancer ‘– Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention 18, 341-345, January 1, 2009 by Kumar N, Titus-Ernstoff L, Newcomb PA et al.

Embryo Screening and the BRCA1 gene

January 2009, saw the birth of the first British baby, genetically screened before conception, to be free of the faulty BRCA1 gene. Paul Serhal (medical director of the assisted conception unit at University College Hospital, London) said:
‘This little girl will not face the spectre of developing this genetic form of breast cancer or ovarian cancer in her adult life. The parents will have been spared the risk of inflicting this disease on their daughter. The lasting legacy is the eradication of the transmission of this form of cancer that has blighted these families for generations.’’
A woman carrying a faulty BRCA1 gene has a 50%-85% chance of developing breast cancer and in this case, the girl was considered to have an 80% chance of developing the disease based on the fact that the faulty gene ran through her father’s family.
PGD (pre-implantation genetic diagnosis) has already been used in this country to free babies of life shortening inherited diseases such as cystic fibrosis and Huntington’s, but special permission had to be sought from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority by the London Clinic which performed the procedure. For the first time, embryo selection was made for the purpose of reducing rather than eliminating the baby’s chances of getting breast cancer as an adult. PGD involves testing a group of embryos to ensure that the one returned to the womb does not carry faulty genes. In this case, 6 out of the 11 embryos tested carried the defective BRCA1 gene. Two embryos which were free of the gene were implanted, resulting in a single pregnancy.
However, it is recognised that the decision to screen embryos for this gene is a complex area and raises a number of ethical issues. The discarded embryos might have become women who would never have had cancer and although women with faulty BRCA1 and 2 genes have a risk of up to 7 times higher than other women of developing breast or ovarian cancer, some of them will be cured and some might never have developed these diseases at all. Finally, it cannot be said that this baby will be cancer free during her lifetime; all that can be said with certainty is that she does not carry the BRCA1 gene.

Source:
The Guardian Newspaper