Does any of Breakthrough Breast Cancer’s research require the use of animals?
- Categories:
- Research
Answer:
The use of animals in research has played a vital role in improving human health for millions of people worldwide. It has assisted in developing new treatments, medicines and vaccines for a huge number of diseases and illnesses including cancer, heart disease, HIV and influenza.
Animal studies have also led to a number of breakthroughs in the treatment of breast cancer. These include the development of drugs such as Herceptin and aromatase inhibitors. They were also instrumental in the development of one of breast cancers’ most successful treatments, tamoxifen, which is used to treat oestrogen positive breast cancer, the most common form of the disease.
Breakthrough Breast Cancer and animal researchBreakthrough Breast Cancer is a pioneering charity dedicated to improving and saving lives through finding the causes of breast cancer and discovering new and better treatments. We, like other medical research charities, always aim to fund research that generates the best possible results for patients. In some instances this will involve using animals. Some of the research funded by Breakthrough involves the use of fruit flies and mice.
Breakthrough agrees with the policy on animal research advocated by the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) of which we are a member. They state that scientists should only use animals in research when there is no alternative. This is a requirement by law.
It also supports the principles of replacing the use of animals where possible and reducing and refining experimental procedures to minimise the number of animals used in experiments for which there is no reasonable alternative. These guiding principles – replace, reduce and refine – are known as the three Rs and underpin the humane use of animals in scientific research. The AMRC and its members, including Breakthrough, would like to see research progress without using animals, but believe that such work has been and still is, at times, the best way forward.
Breast cancerEvery year nearly 48,000 women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer. It is a devastating disease, not only to those who have it, but to their families and friends. Medical research using animals continues to provide major advances in breast cancer prevention, treatment and quality of life for people with the disease highlighting just how important work of this type continues to be.
New research techniques are developed all the time and our scientists use a number of different methods when conducting their work. However, the similarities between animals and humans - mice have almost the same genes as humans - currently means the information research using animals is able to provide us is invaluable in the development of new breast cancer treatments and the fight against this disease.
RegulationThe use of animals in research is heavily regulated in the UK. This is to ensure that experiments are only carried out when there is no alternative technique and when the expected benefits outweigh any possible adverse effects.
In 1986, the existing controls on animal research were revised and extended to create the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, which is used to safeguard the welfare of the animal while allowing medical research to continue.
The UK was the first country in the world to protect research animals and we are the only one to regulate that research at both central government and local levels. As a result, our controls and governance in this field are widely regarded as some of the strictest in the world.
For more information on the regulation of animal research visit the Home Office website.
