Breast cancer genetic code mapped
The genetic code of the most common type of hereditary breast cancer has been mapped for the first time, with scientists hoping the discovery will help diagnosis many more people.
Researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) say they have “fully sequenced” two breast cancers caused by a faulty gene, which is responsible for highly drug-resistant tumours.
“It is exciting to find new genes which could be involved in causing and driving breast cancer. Now these have been identified we have to do more work to find out the role that they play,” said Dr Rachael Natrajan.
“Ultimately, this knowledge could help us develop new treatments that target the specific defects of each patient’s disease.”
Breast cancers genetically passed down through families account for up to 10 per cent of all cases, affecting around 4,500 people in the UK each year.
Professor Jorge Reis-Filho said: “This research has big implications for how we treat hereditary breast cancer in the future.
“We often consider patients with a faulty BRCA gene as one group but our work shows that each tumour can look very different from each other genetically. Now we understand this, we can start to identify the best treatment strategies to save more lives of hereditary breast cancer patients.”
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