Latest news with #LSHTM
Sky News
24-07-2025
- Health
- Sky News
Thousands of cancer cases could be prevented with more breast removal surgeries, study suggests
Thousands of cancer cases could potentially be prevented if more women were offered breast removal surgery, according to a study. A mastectomy is offered to some people who already have breast cancer, but research suggests about 6,500 cases could be prevented each year if more preventative procedures were done. Risk-reducing mastectomies (RRM) are currently only an option for women with the BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2 genes. But the study says people with other genes - including ATM, CHEK2, RAD51C, RAD51D - might benefit if they also have other high-risk factors. These include family history of the disease, whether they breast fed, mammogram density and the number of children they've had. Researchers suggest that if all women 30 to 55 with a risk of 35% or more could be identified - and they all then had RRM - an estimated 6,538 cases could be prevented each year. That equates to about 11% of the 59,000 UK women diagnosed annually. The economic evaluation by Queen Mary University of London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) said it would be a cost effective strategy. It added that women carrying one of the other genes linked to breast cancer could potentially be found by "cascade testing", in which tests are offered to family members. One of the authors said it was the first time a risk factor for offering RRM had been defined. "Our results could have significant clinical implications to expand access to mastectomy beyond those patients with known genetic susceptibility in high penetrance genes - BRCA1/ BRCA2/ PALB2 - who are traditionally offered this," said Professor Ranjit Manchanda, professor of gynaecological oncology at Queen Mary. "We recommend that more research is carried out to evaluate the acceptability, uptake, and long-term outcomes of RRM among this group," he added. Louise Grimsdell, Breast Cancer Now senior clinical nurse specialist, stressed that women should consider all options - not just surgery. "While this modelling provides valuable insights into the cost-effectiveness of risk-reducing mastectomy for women with a high risk of developing breast cancer, each individual must be offered all risk-management options that are suitable for them," she said. "Choosing to have risk-reducing surgery is a complex and deeply personal decision that comes with emotional and physical implications," added Ms Grimsdell. "So, it's vital women can consider all their options, including screening and risk-reducing medications, and are supported by their clinician to make an informed decision that's right for them. "It's also crucial that the unacceptably long waits that far too many women who chose risk-reducing surgery are facing are urgently tackled."
The Independent
24-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
‘Risk-reducing' surgery could prevent thousands of breast cancer cases
Thousands of breast cancer cases could be averted each year if more women were offered 'risk-reducing' breast removal surgery, a new study suggests. This intervention, known as a mastectomy, is currently used to treat existing cancer or offered to those with a high genetic predisposition, specifically women carrying the BRCA1, BRCA2, or PALB2 genes. The analysis indicates that approximately 6,500 cases of breast cancer could be prevented annually if preventative mastectomies were more widely adopted. Crucially, the research proposes expanding eligibility beyond the currently recognised genetic markers. Women with other genes linked to increased risk, such as ATM, CHEK2, RAD51C, and RAD51D, may also benefit. Furthermore, the study highlights that a combination of other factors, including a family history of breast cancer, parity (number of children), breastfeeding history, and mammogram density, should be considered in assessing a woman's overall high risk for the disease, potentially making them candidates for risk-reducing mastectomies. Women in the UK have an 11 per cent chance of developing breast cancer across their lifetime. Medics can calculate a woman's risk of breast cancer using tools which combine the effect of various risk factors. Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) found that if health officials could identify all women aged 30 to 55 who have a 35 per cent or higher risk of breast cancer, and they all went on to have RRM, then an estimated 6,538 breast cancer cases could be prevented in the UK each year. This is the equivalent of around 11 per cent of the 59,000 women in the UK who are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. The academics point out that women who have one of the other genes linked to breast cancer, who may be at high risk of disease, could potentially be found by a mechanism called 'cascade testing' – where genetic tests are offered to family members of women who have been found to have these different genes linked to breast cancer. The economic evaluation study, published in the journal JAMA Oncology, concludes: 'Undergoing RRM appears cost-effective for women at 30-55 years with a lifetime BC-risk 35 per cent (or more). 'The results could have significant clinical implications to expand access to RRM beyond BRCA1/BRCA2/PALB2 pathogenic variant carriers.' Corresponding author on the paper, Professor Ranjit Manchanda, professor of gynaecological oncology at Queen Mary and consultant gynaecological oncologist, said: 'We for the first time define the risk at which we should offer RRM. 'Our results could have significant clinical implications to expand access to mastectomy beyond those patients with known genetic susceptibility in high penetrance genes- BRCA1/ BRCA2/ PALB2 – who are traditionally offered this. 'This could potentially prevent can potentially prevent (around) 6500 breast cancer cases annually in UK women. 'We recommend that more research is carried out to evaluate the acceptability, uptake, and long-term outcomes of RRM among this group'. Dr Rosa Legood, associate professor in health economics at LSHTM, added: 'Undergoing RRM is cost-effective for women (aged) 30 to 55-years with a lifetime breast cancer risk of 35 per cent or more. 'These results can support additional management options for personalised breast cancer risk prediction enabling more women at increased risk to access prevention.' Women deemed to be at high risk of breast cancer can also be offered regular screening and medication. Louise Grimsdell, Breast Cancer Now senior clinical nurse specialist, said: 'While this modelling provides valuable insights into the cost-effectiveness of risk-reducing mastectomy for women with a high risk of developing breast cancer, each individual must be offered all risk-management options that are suitable for them. 'Choosing to have risk-reducing surgery is a complex and deeply personal decision that comes with emotional and physical implications. 'So, it's vital women can consider all their options, including screening and risk-reducing medications, and are supported by their clinician to make an informed decision that's right for them. 'It's also crucial that the unacceptably long waits that far too many women who chose risk-reducing surgery are facing are urgently tackled.'
Telegraph
24-07-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Preventative mastectomies could cut thousands of breast cancer cases
Preventative mastectomies could cut thousands of breast cancer cases, a study has suggested. Breast removal surgery, also known as a mastectomy, is offered to treat breast cancer in some women and can also be recommended to women deemed to be at high risk of the disease as a preventative measure. A study found that if more women were given preventative mastectomies, then some 6,500 breast cancer cases could be cut each year. Risk-reducing mastectomies (RRM) are currently only offered to women with the BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2 genes, which are linked to a higher risk of breast cancer, experts said. But the analysis has suggested that some women with other genes, including ATM, CHEK2, RAD51C, RAD51D, who may also be at risk because of a number of other factors, may benefit from RRM if assessed as having a higher risk of disease. Such other factors can include a family history of breast cancer, the number of children they have had, whether they have breastfed and mammogram density. Women in the UK have an 11 per cent chance of developing breast cancer across their lifetime. Medics can calculate a woman's risk of breast cancer using tools that combine the effects of various risk factors. 'Significant clinical implications' Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) found that if health officials could identify all women aged 30 to 55 with a 35 per cent or higher risk of breast cancer and they all went on to have RRM, then an estimated 6,538 cases could be prevented in the UK each year. This is equivalent to around 11 per cent of the 59,000 women in the UK who are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. The academics pointed out that women with one of the other genes linked to breast cancer, who may be at high risk of disease, could potentially be found by a mechanism called 'cascade testing', where genetic tests are offered to family members of women found to have the different genes linked to the disease. The economic evaluation study, which was published in the JAMA Oncology journal, said: 'Undergoing RRM appears cost-effective for women at 30-55 years with a lifetime BC-risk 35 per cent (or more). 'The results could have significant clinical implications to expand access to RRM beyond BRCA1/BRCA2/PALB2 pathogenic variant carriers.' Prof Ranjit Manchanda, one of the paper's authors and a gynaecological oncology professor at Queen Mary University of London, said: 'We, for the first time, define the risk at which we should offer RRM. He added: 'This could potentially prevent [around] 6,500 breast cancer cases annually in UK women. 'We recommend that more research is carried out to evaluate the acceptability, uptake and long-term outcomes of RRM among this group.' Women deemed to be at high risk of breast cancer can also be offered regular screening and medication. Louise Grimsdell, a senior clinical nurse specialist at Breast Cancer Now, said: 'Choosing to have risk-reducing surgery is a complex and deeply personal decision that comes with emotional and physical implications. 'So it's vital women can consider all their options, including screening and risk-reducing medications, and are supported by their clinician to make an informed decision that's right for them.'
Mint
18-07-2025
- Climate
- Mint
Brits Keep a Sweaty Upper Lip on Air Conditioning
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- There's a somewhat gratifying TikTok trend at the moment where Americans visiting London in a heatwave realize that, yes, British heat does 'hit different.' One tourist says, 'it feels as if I'm in a sauna.' Another admitted that he always thought British people were lying, but 'for some reason it just feels like you are melting.' Inevitably, the talk turns to air conditioning. After all, parts of the US definitely get hotter and just as humid as the UK, but there's usually refuge to be taken in mechanically cooled homes. In the UK, AC is rare — except in supermarkets and office buildings — and our housing stock, mostly built before climate change was a real and present threat, is designed to absorb and retain heat rather than keep it out. That's in part because many buildings here and across Europe were built before AC was available, and historically the main concern was keeping warm in frigid weather. As a result, we have a real problem with overheating that's only going to get worse as the climate crisis intensifies and elongates heat waves. More than half of homes in the UK currently suffer from overheating — meaning that the internal temperature exceeds what is comfortable for a certain amount of time, depending on whether the room is a bedroom or not. Under a 2C (3.6F) warming scenario, which we could reach as early as 2045, that could rise to 90% of homes. I used to live in a Victorian flat on the top floor. There were multiple occasions where I'd watch, sweaty and distressed, the mercury rise above 30C in the living room and bedroom for most of the day and evening, despite attempts to follow good heatwave protocol: shut the windows and curtains during the day, open everything up when the sun goes down. Working from home was a struggle, getting a good night's sleep impossible. My colleagues and friends from hotter climes will likely scoff at the discomfort of Brits. Though heatwaves are getting longer and hotter, they don't compare to the sweltering temperatures of other countries. Recent heatwaves saw temperatures exceed 45C in parts of Spain and Portugal, for example, a high mercifully not yet seen in the UK. Still, it's important to be attuned to the negative consequences of being poorly adapted to high temperatures — and the UK stands out on this front. For example, as John Burn-Murdoch recently highlighted in the Financial Times, sleep duration, work productivity and cognitive performance drop rapidly when indoor temperatures rise above the low 20s Celsius. Aggression and violence goes up. Mental health suffers. People die. A recent study from Imperial College London and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) found that an extra 263 Londoners likely died in the recent heatwave between June 23 and July 2, of which two-thirds could be attributed to the climate crisis. Another study from University College London and LSHTM found that, by the 2070s, annual excess heat deaths in England and Wales could exceed 34,000 in the worst-case scenario of 4.3C of warming with minimal adaptations. So, other than working hard to reduce emissions, what should we do? Adding green spaces and tree cover to cities makes a huge difference. Cities, with the sheer mass of asphalt, concrete and glass, are particularly vulnerable to overheating thanks to the 'urban heat island' effect. Studies have shown that the addition of tree canopy cover can reduce heat-related mortality and temperatures. Meanwhile, good public information, such as heat health alerts, clear instructions on how to stay cool and information about local public spaces with air conditioning, creates resilience within communities. But there's a key element missing. Government policy in Britain has focused almost exclusively on making homes warmer. You can currently get help with the cost of switching to a low-carbon heating system or get free or cheaper insulation. There's good reason for this. The cold has traditionally been of greater concern, and with home heating accounting for 18% of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, these efforts are essential for meeting climate targets and energy security, as well as empowering households to reduce expensive heating bills. A couple of simple tweaks could help improve homes — and therefore the wellbeing of residents — in the summer months too. For example, a highly effective way of reducing the amount of heat that gets trapped in homes is to add shade via external shutters or awnings. Help ought to be available for installing these, particularly for low-income households who tend to be more at risk of overheating. It'd certainly improve upon advice to cover windows with yogurt, which may be surprisingly effective for the odd scorching day but turn into a drain of time and dairy in the long term. Meanwhile, landlords aren't incentivized to improve their homes. New rules will mean that private landlords must meet a certain threshold for energy efficiency by 2030. While this is a very positive and necessary move, there could be scope to expand it to overheating too. The development of a new metric for overheating risk, similar to an energy performance certificate, could help renters and buyers alike better understand what they're getting into, while opening the door for policy to encourage landlords to add shading and cooling measures. Though passive means of cooling should be prioritized, it's probably time to start embracing air conditioning, too — something that is being actively discouraged by government policy. Air-to-air heat pumps are able to both heat and cool rooms efficiently, but they are excluded from the government's boiler upgrade scheme (possibly because they don't provide hot water like a conventional boiler). The UK should rethink that. There is justified resistance to a wider adoption of air conditioning in the UK, from concerns about how the grid will handle extra energy demand in the summer to the idea that us Brits simply don't do air conditioning. A stiff but sweaty upper lip, you might say. But as the grid is upgraded and cleaned up, energy concerns become far less important — particularly if we're able to expand solar power that handily generates electricity when the sun is shining and AC demand is high. Cultural beliefs may be harder to sway, but in the face of weeks of restless sleep and sticky skin, we might eventually come round to it. More From Bloomberg Opinion: This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Lara Williams is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering climate change. More stories like this are available on
The Independent
09-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
London heatwave killed 263 people – with climate change to blame for most, study says
An extra 263 people in London died during the recent heatwave, scientists have estimated, warning climate change has tripled the number of heat-related deaths across European cities. Global warming, caused primarily by humans burning fossil fuels and cutting down forests, made the searing heat that gripped much of Europe in late June and early July much more intense, researchers found. The heatwaves were up to 4C hotter across cities compared to a world without climate change, the study from the World Weather Attribution group of researchers said. The first rapid study to estimate the number of deaths linked to climate change in a heatwave found human-driven global warming was responsible for around 65 per cent of the deaths that occurred across 12 cities, including London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona and Rome. The study found around 1,500 of the 2,300 estimated heat deaths were the result of climate change – equating to a tripling of the number of deaths in the heatwave due to global warming. Last week, temperatures reached up to 34C in London, and an amber heat health warning was issued by the UK Health Security Agency. The researchers from Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) estimated there were 263 excess deaths in London due to the heatwave from 23 June to 2 July – 173 of these deaths were due to hotter temperatures because of climate change. During these 10 days of warmth, a 'heat dome' high pressure system over Europe trapped hot dry air and pushed up temperatures, as well as pulling hot air from North Africa, intensifying the heatwave. The scientists behind the study warned heatwaves were 'quietly devastating' and their research showed how dangerous climate change already was with just 1.3C of warming, particularly for older and more vulnerable people. They also warned that their analysis focused on only 12 cities, providing only a snapshot of the deaths linked to climate change-driven high temperatures across Europe, which may have reached into the tens of thousands. The researchers used weather data to assess the intensity of the heatwaves over their hottest five-day period in a world which has seen 1.3C of warming and compared it the cooler pre-industrial climate. The analysis showed the heatwaves were around 1-4C higher than in a world which had not warned 1.3C due to climate change. Climate change was responsible for an estimated, 317 excess deaths in Madrid and 235 in Paris, the study found. Most of the deaths were in older age groups, the researchers said, highlighting the growing risk older people in Europe face from dying prematurely due to longer, hotter and more frequent heatwaves.
