image: Consortium for Personalised Breast Cancer Prevention. Consortium Members (from left): Akshay Mody (Antegenes Ltd.), Laura Naylor (Breast Awareness Clinic); Gareth Evans (University of Manchester); Lester Barr (Prevent Breast Cancer); Nikki Barraclough (Prevent Breast Cancer); Peeter Padrik (Antegenes)
Credit: Consortium for Personalised Breast Cancer Prevention Photographer: Matt Wilkinson
A new telemedicine service for personalised breast cancer prevention has launched at preventcancer.co.uk. It allows women aged 30 to 75 across the UK to understand their risk of developing breast cancer and take early action years before NHS screening begins.
The service delivers a personalised breast cancer prevention plan based on each woman’s genetic profile using a simple home saliva test and online clinical guidance. It is especially relevant for women under 50, who currently fall outside the national screening programme despite accounting for 1 in 5 breast cancer cases.
The service is organised and supported by a clinical consortium of experts from Prevent Breast Cancer, the Breast Awareness Clinic, Antegenes, and the University of Manchester.
“We need to do much more to prevent young women from getting breast cancer,” said Lester Barr MBE, co-founder of Prevent Breast Cancer. “We also need to do more to empower women to understand their individual risk, so they can make informed choices about their health. Our goal is to see breast cancer risk assessments offered to all women over 30, paving the way for a risk-adapted screening programme. This would mean more frequent—and potentially earlier—screening for women identified as having an above-average risk, rather than just offering screening to all women over 50. While this approach is still several years away for the NHS, this independent website is already providing a valuable service that we hope will one day be available to everyone.”
The service combines a clinically validated polygenic risk score (PRS) test with a short questionnaire to assess family history. Women with higher risk are offered clear recommendations for screening and prevention. PRS measures the cumulative effect of thousands of common genetic variants linked to breast cancer. The method helps identify at-risk women who may not have a family history or carry rare mutations that are traditionally tested for. Those with potential rare genetic mutations, like BRCA1 or BRCA2, are referred to appropriate NHS or private services for further specialised genetic testing.
“Polygenic risk scoring lets us assess risk earlier and more accurately,” said Professor Gareth Evans, Consultant Geneticist and Professor of Medical Genetics at the University of Manchester. “Every woman should be offered this simple test from age 30.”
The underlying test for this service was developed by health technology company Antegenes and is CE-marked, registered with the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and validated using UK Biobank data.
While currently available as a private service, the team behind the initiative hopes it will contribute to a future NHS screening model that reflects women’s individual risk, beyond just age.
“We believe personalised approaches are a vital part of the future of cancer prevention and screening programmes,” said Dr. Peeter Padrik, Oncologist and CEO of Antegenes.
“This service gives women something we’ve been missing for a long time - a chance to understand their breast cancer risk early and act on it in a way that fits their life,” said Laura Naylor, Director of the Breast Awareness Clinic. “It’s simple, supportive, and backed by real clinical evidence - exactly what we need to make personalised prevention part of everyday care.”
The group members also recently published the first clinical guidelines for using PRS in breast cancer in the journal Cancers, offering a roadmap for integrating this innovation into routine healthcare.
About the Consortium for Personalised Breast Cancer Prevention
The service is supported by a clinical consortium of experts from Prevent Breast Cancer, the Breast Awareness Clinic, Antegenes Ltd., the University of Manchester.
The test is not currently available on the NHS. Risk estimates should be interpreted alongside other factors such as breast density and family history. Rare monogenic mutations are assessed separately where indicated.
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