BRCA2 Gene News and Research

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BRCA2 is a gene on chromosome 13 that normally helps to suppress cell growth. A person who inherits certain mutations (changes) in a BRCA2 gene has a higher risk of getting breast, ovarian, prostate, and other types of cancer.

Non-BRCA1/2 hereditary breast cancer linked to new cancers

The risk for a new cancer in the unaffected breast substantially increases in women diagnosed with unilateral, hereditary (non-BRCA1/2) breast cancer, according to a new study by researchers working at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.

14 Feb 2006

BRCA1 gene inhibits estrogen and progesterone

It's been known that the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 regulates use of estrogen in breast and other cells, but now researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have discovered that it also controls activity of a second sex steroid hormone, progesterone.

27 Jan 2006

A good year for breast cancer detection and treatment

It was a good year in women’s health, notably breast cancer treatment and detection. The December issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource hails these important advances of 2005.

29 Dec 2005

Breast cancer survival rate boosted by radiotherapy

According to a new study breast cancer patients who have radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery have a lower risk of a recurrence of the disease and a better chance of beating the illness.

19 Dec 2005

Gene mapping project promises new targeted cancer therapies

Government researchers in the United States have this week launched a pilot project to find all the little genetic changes that cause cancer in the hope it will lead to a whole new world of targeted cancer therapy.

14 Dec 2005

Access to genetic counseling and testing are an important part of cancer control

Ten years after the identification of the first breast cancer susceptibility genes so few high-risk minority women have received genetic counseling or testing that the standard methods of calculating risk have not been validated in these groups and the results of genetic testing can still produce surprises.

18 Oct 2005

Data supports use of personal and family history of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, or both in making clinical decisions

African American women at high-risk of breast cancer have genetic mutations that would make genetic testing feasible, according to a study in the October 19 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

18 Oct 2005

Simple, fast and effective method of detecting a large number of patients at high risk for hereditary breast/ovarian cancer

One in five women diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer who seek mammography have a family history of cancer that suggests they may harbor known cancer-causing gene mutations.

26 Sep 2005

Questionnaire helps identify women who have inherited genetic mutations that increase their risk for breast or ovarian cancer

A simplified way for patients to report and update their family medical histories could help identify women who have inherited genetic mutations that increase their risk for breast or ovarian cancer.

26 Sep 2005

Increased ovarian cancer risk not linked to cancer family history

Women with a strong family history of breast cancer but who don't have breast cancer genetic mutations can now be reassured that they are not at increased risk for ovarian cancer, according to a new study by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC).

21 Sep 2005

Testing for specific breast cancer genes unadvisable if no family history of disease exists

According to the Preventive Services Task Force in the U.S., routine testing for mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which have been linked to breast and ovarian cancer, are not advised unless women have a family history of the disease.

7 Sep 2005

New recommendations for screening for BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations

The United States Preventive Services Task Force issues new recommendations for screening for BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations in the Sept. 6, 2005, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

5 Sep 2005

First proof of how the rare disorder Fanconi anemia causes chromosomal instability

The scientists found a gene mutation not previously known to be related to Fanconi anemia, and they say that BRIP1 is the first gene associated with the disease whose protein has a known function.

22 Aug 2005

Losing weight cuts breast cancer risk

An international team of scientists has found that young women who carry a breast cancer gene, can reduce their risk of the disease by up to 65% by attaining a healthy bodyweight.

21 Aug 2005

New breast cancer genes detected using cutting edge technology

Scientists in the UK say they have detected four new genes believed to be involved in the development of breast cancer.

4 Aug 2005

Combined MRI and mammography more effective at detecting breast cancer in high risk women

Annual screening, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and X-ray mammography, is the best way to detect breast cancer in women that have a high genetic risk of the disease, according to a study published online by The Lancet.

16 May 2005

New gene linked to familial cancer

Scientists have identified a new gene that appears to be linked to a small but significant percentage of familial cancer cases – as well as seemingly randomly occurring malignancies.

20 Apr 2005

Black women in the US less likely to access preventative cancer treatments

A report from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia says that black women in the US with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, are far less likely to seek genetic counselling and possible testing than their white counterparts, and although the reasons for the disparity are not clear, it is suspected that mistrust of both the medical system and advice from primary physicians may be factors.

12 Apr 2005

Oral contraceptives may protect against breast cancer

Women at high genetic risk of breast cancer could reduce their risk of developing the disease at an early age by taking oral contraceptives, a new study has found. The findings contradict previous studies, which suggested oral contraceptive use would increase the risk of developing breast cancer.

22 Mar 2005

Women with non–invasive breast cancer carry the same mutations in two inherited breast/ovarian cancer genes as women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer

The inherited breast/ovarian cancer genes are BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are associated with an increased risk of breast and/or ovarian cancer. The results are part of a five–year study of a common form of early stage breast cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

7 Mar 2005