Hispanic women at risk of breast cancer gene: study

Last Updated: 2007-12-26 9:00:26 -0400 (Reuters Health)

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A gene known to give many Jewish women a high risk of cancer also puts many U.S. Hispanic women at high risk, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

They found that 3.5 percent of Hispanic women entered in a Northern California breast cancer registry had the BRCA1 genetic mutation, compared to 8.3 percent of Ashkenazic Jews and 2.2 percent of non-Ashkenazic white women.

Ashkenazis are members of the group of Jews that settled in central, northern, and later eastern Europe and developed Yiddish as their spoken language.

The BRCA1 gene mutation raises the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, with the risk of developing breast cancer by age 70 put at 65 percent, the researchers said. Women who find out they have the mutation are advised to be vigilant, and some opt for preventive chemotherapy or surgery.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at more than 3,000 cancer patients in the United States diagnosed before age 65 between 1996 and 2005.

It may be that many Hispanic women have unknown Jewish ancestry, Esther John of the Northern California Cancer Center in Fremont and colleagues said.

The lowest incidence of the mutation was found among Asian-American women at 0.5 percent, and it was found among 1.3 percent of black women patients.

However the BRCA1 mutation was most common among black women diagnosed with the disease before age 35 -- 16.7 percent, the researchers found.

The findings about the hereditary risks facing racial groups argues for shifting gene testing resources to women who have a family history of breast cancer, John and colleagues said.

In an accompanying editorial, two University of Chicago researchers said the findings spotlighted that minorities are rarely tested for the BRCA1 gene. They cited data showing that only 10 percent of BRCA1 testing procedures are done on U.S. minority populations.

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Breastcancer.org says:

Hispanic women at risk of breast cancer gene: study

The study reviewed here found that Hispanic women are more likely to have an abnormal BRCA1 gene (BReast CAncer gene 1) than white women who are not Ashkenazi Jews. The study also found that African American women younger than 35 who were diagnosed with breast cancer were twice as likely to have an abnormal BRCA1 gene than Ashkenazi Jewish women.

Despite these results, non-white women don't get breast cancer gene testing very often. Doctors need to make a better effort to consider family history and the risks of genetic abnormalities among different ethnic groups when deciding who should be tested.

Most women who develop breast cancer do NOT have an inherited abnormal breast cancer gene. Abnormal BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes account for about 10% of all breast cancers. Women who do have an abnormal BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene have up to an 85% risk of developing breast cancer by age 70. Their risk for ovarian cancer is also higher.

The likelihood of having an abnormal breast cancer gene is substantially higher if:

  • You have blood relatives on either side of the family who were diagnosed with breast cancer younger than age 50.
  • There is both breast and ovarian cancer in your family, particularly if one woman has both.
  • Women in your family have had cancer in both breasts.
  • You are of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage.
  • You are of African American heritage and have been diagnosed with breast cancer at age 35 or younger.
  • A man in your family has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

No matter your race or ethnicity, your doctor should consider your individual risk of having an abnormal breast cancer gene and help you decide whether you should receive genetic counseling and testing. This should be based not only on your ethnic background, but also on your individual personal and family medical history.

Visit the Breastcancer.org Breast Cancer Risk Factors: Genetics page to learn more about breast cancer genes, assessing your genetic risk, and deciding whether breast cancer gene testing makes sense for YOU.

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