I WOULD like to thank all those women who are supporting Cancer Research UK's breast cancer prevention trial, called the International Breast Cancer Intervention Study II (IBIS-2).

Women from across the UK are taking part in the research but we need more women to come forward to help us in our work.

Public support has meant that more than 2,600 women worldwide have now joined this groundbreaking study seen by experts as the next step in the fight against a disease which affects more than 100 women in the UK every day.

The study is open to post-menopausal women (women who have stopped having regular periods), who are aged between 40-70 years, are not on HRT, and have a family history of breast cancer or other risk factors (such as certain types of non-cancerous breast lumps).

Women on the study will be asked to take one tablet every day for five years. This tablet will either contain a drug called anastrozole or an inactive placebo, and they will also be given a bone scan and regular breast screening.

Women who decide to take part in this important study will be making an enormous contribution to breast cancer research, helping us to prevent breast cancer in future generations.

For more information contact Cancer Research UK's cancer information nurses on 020 7061 8355 or Kim Stevens at Royal South Hants Hospital on 023 8079 4618.

Alternatively, visit www.ibis-trials.org and www.cancerhelp.org.uk or write to IBIS-2, Cancer Research UK, The Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ.

P#ROFESSOR JACK CUZICK, principal investigator, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine.