Use of BRCA1 protein to classify cancer
12th May 2008
Breast Cancer Campaign’s Scientific Conference - Breast Cancer Research 2008
Not all mutations of the BRCA1 gene confer an equal risk of developing breast cancer a London scientist told the Breast Cancer Campaign conference today (13 May).
Dr Jo Morris, based at Kings College told the 300 delegates at The Royal Society that women with a family history of breast cancer often have mutations in one of the breast cancer susceptibility genes, known as BRCA1 or BRCA2 and have up to an 85 per cent risk of breast cancer developing in their lifetime.
Genes are ‘recipes’ for making other molecules in the body called proteins, which play a vital role in keeping our bodies functioning properly. Most BRCA1 changes result in shorter proteins being produced and may result in breast cancer. However, some changes are more subtle and their effects aren’t easily identified. New work suggests that BRCA1 interactions with other proteins in the cell. Loss of some of these interactions are more likely to cause breast cancer than others. Not all changes in the BRCA1 gene will lead to a high risk of developing of breast cancer.
Dr Morris said “We hope to refine BRCA1 testing to make it more efficient. Women who have inherited the BRCA1 gene have a difficult decision to make as to whether they undergo preventative measures such as a prophylactic mastectomy. The new test should enable those with a mutated form of BRCA1 to make a decision based on evidence rather than conjecture.”
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