Study: Gene mutation affects Latinas with cancer

A new scientific study found that Latinas with breast cancer are very vulnerable to a gene mutation common in certain Jewish women. The mutation on the BRCA1 gene is found in 8.3% of Ashkenazi Jewish women with breast cancer, according to the study, yet Latinas with breast cancer were the second highest group with the mutation.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and looked at over 3000 women in northern California. According to the report’s head author, the findings could help pinpoint which groups need the most help in terms of cancer prevention and treatment:

"The vast majority of breast cancer patients do not have a mutation in these genes," said Esther John, an epidemiologist and lead author of the study. "But if women have a mutation, they do have a very high risk of developing breast cancer. That's why it is important information in the family, because if a mother has the mutation, her daughters are likely to have the mutation as well" …

"It could very well be that when genetic testing is being focused on Hispanic women, that it should be focused on that mutation," said John, a research scientist at the Northern California Cancer Center.

Sources- UPI, Houston Chronicle, Reuters UK, San Jose Mercury News

Image- ABC News