Women Cancer Health Treatment

SCIENTISTS have discovered a new breast cancer gene which doubles a woman’s chance of developing the disease, a finding that may lead to better treatment of the disease. Carrying a damaged version of the gene called ATM means the risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer by the age of 70 increases from one in 12 for the general population to one in six, the researchers said.

Researchers screened 433 patients who had a family history of cancer and a control group of 521 women. A certain damaged gene, carried by about 2 percent of all families, more than doubled the risk for breast cancer by age 70, the scientists said in today’s issue of Nature Genetics.
The study, published in Nature Genetics revealed that 12 ATM gene faults were found in women with breast cancer while only two were found in the group without breast cancer. Statistically, it was computed that women with the faulty gene have a 2.37 fold greater risk.
The risk is thought to be greater for women in families with multiple cases of the disease. For women in these families, the findings are likely to mean they will be routinely screened for the faulty gene in the future. Those carrying it will be able to consider whether to have preventative mastectomies to prevent the disease.

This means around 400 of the women who develop breast cancer each year in Britain are thought to carry an ATM gene fault. A spokesman for the Institute of Cancer Research, said: “Our study provides strong evidence that damaged ATM genes definitely have a moderate effect on breast cancer risk in a small number of women.”
It is hoped that the finding could lead to new ways of identifying women who face an increased risk of cancer, and expected to have a wide reaching impact since over 40,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually in the UK alone. Added, 1% of the population is expected to carry a damaged ATM gene.
Due to the results of this study, they will be made to undergo routine screenings. If their risks are considerably high, they will also be able to opt for consultation regarding preventative mastectomies.