Myriad Genetics other research news

MYGN researchers and colleagues reported in Nature Genetics on a study of inherited breast cancer in Ashkenazi Jewish women with BRCA2 gene mutations. A total of 80 Jewish women with breast cancer before the age of 42 were compared with a control group of 93 non-Jewish women who also had breast cancer before age 42. A specific BRCA2 mutation, 6174delT, was seen in 6 of 80 cases, compared to 0 of 93 in the control group (p=0.005). The mutation also wasn’t seen in 70 controls with no history of cancer. The 6174delT mutation prevents the BRCA2 gene from producing a tumor suppressor protein that controls cell growth.

Separate reportes in Nature Genetics also documented mutations in the BRCA2 gene. One study in 21 Icelandic families found a 999del5 mutation in 35 of 44 female breast cancer cases (79.5 percent). The 9 cases without the mutation had a later age of onset of cancer (61.5 years vs. 50.6 years) and are likely to be sporadic cases. ...