Thousands more women could discover they’re at increased risk of breast cancer as scientists identify 4 new linked genes
SCIENTISTS have found four more genes that raise breast cancer risk, according to a study.
They say screening could detect more women at risk by checking for more warning signs in DNA.
Current genetic tests focus heavily on the BRCA “Jolie” genes, nicknamed after ‘Tomb Raider’ actress Angelina because she carries one.
A team involving Cambridge University researchers say they found at least four more high-risk genes while scanning the DNA of 243,00 women.
Breast cancer is the most common tumour type in Britain, affecting 56,000 women per year.
Professor Jacques Simard, from Laval University in Quebec, Canada, said: “Although most of the variants identified in these new genes are rare, the risks can be significant for women who carry them.
“For example, alterations in one of the new genes, MAP3K1, appear to give rise to a particularly high risk of breast cancer.”
Cancer Research UK says only 23 per cent of breast cancers can be prevented, with staying slim, reducing alcohol consumption, not smoking and breastfeeding known to cut the risk.
Some women’s genetics will make them much more likely to develop the disease.
The new study, published in the journal Nature Genetics, compared the DNA of 26,000 women with breast cancer and 217,000 women without it.
It showed gene mutations called MAP3K1, LZTR1, ATR and BARD1 were found more often in women with cancer.
Although they cannot be cured, women who carry them could be tested more often to catch tumours early, or offered preventative surgery or advice to reduce their risk in other ways.
Dr Kotryna Temcinaite, from the charity Breast Cancer Now, said: “Only around five to 10 per cent of women with breast cancer are thought to carry an inherited altered gene.
“This exciting research has taken the first steps to identify additional rare, altered genes which could increase a woman’s risk of developing the disease.
“This could help to better determine who is more likely to develop breast cancer and open the door to finding new ways to treat and support these people.”