Breast cancer gene test could save NHS £4m a year - and spare thousands of women the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy

Published: 09:09 EDT, 25 October 2026 | Updated: 09:16 EDT, 25 October 2026 The NHS could save £4m a year by offering women with low-risk breast cancer a genetic test that could allow them to avoid toxic and unnecessary chemotherapy. The test - called Prosigna - is currently only approved for use in post-menopausal women whose cancer has not spread to more than three nearby lymph nodes. But experts at University College London say offering the test more widely, to women as young as 40, could save the NHS £654 per patient. It could also spare more than 4,000 women a year the side effects of chemotherapy, which can include nausea, vomiting, hair loss and an increased risk of infection. Presenting the findings at the annual meeting of the European Society of Medical Oncology in Madrid, Dr Rob Stein said: 'Prosigna testing not only allows about two-thirds of patients with this type of breast cancer to safely avoid chemotherapy, but doing so also saves the NHS money.' The current study focused on the first two years after diagnosis, but experts predict the savings would be even greater in the longer term. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, with around 60,000 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer each year in the UK alone. Around 80 per cent of these are oestrogen-receptor positive cancers, meaning they are fuelled by the female sex hormone oestrogen and can be treated with hormone-blocking drugs. Making genetic testing more widely available could save the NHS £4m a year - and spare thousands of women the debilitating side effects of chemotherapyChemotherapy is typically offered to these patients whose cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, as it lowers the risk of the disease returning. However, there is increasing concern that many women with this type of cancer receive little or no benefit from chemotherapy but still suffer its side effects. Now experts at UCL say Prosigna could help address this dilemma. The trial - known as OPTIMA - saw 4,429 women aged 40 and over whose cancer had spread to up to nine lymph nodes or who had a tumour measuring 30mm or more given the test. The test analyses the activity of 50 genes involved in breast cancer growth, taken from the tumour site during standard surgery or biopsy. A score is then generated based on the risk of the cancer spreading - with low scores indicating that a patient can be safely treated with hormone therapy alone. Results showed that 67 per cent of patients tested did not need chemotherapy. According to UCL analysis, this equates to around 4,200 patients a year. The trial also showed that in the two years following a diagnosis, chemotherapy costs the NHS around £5,500 per patient - when it's given as standard treatment. That figure covers the cost of the drug itself, along with nursing care, time spent in hospital, medicines to manage side effects and any resulting hospital admissions. Using the Prosigna test cut those costs by £3,611 per patient - analysis carried out by Professor Peter Hall, from the University of Edinburgh, found. In the UK, the test is estimated to cost the NHS around £1,955 per patient. After considering other factors including any additional costs that might have been incurred from patients who skip chemotherapy to start other treatments sooner, Prof Hall calculated that the NHS could save around £654 per patient, by offering the Prosigna test within the first two years of being diagnosed.Over the course of a year, if the NHS gave the test to all women who met the trial criteria, the health service could save around £4 million.