African American women could benefit from genetic testing

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A study shows that many African American women with a family history of breast cancer carry mutations that could be the basis of screening.
It is already well known that mutations in the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 account for five to ten per cent of all cases of breast cancer. Women with a strong family history of breast cancer can be tested to see if they carry a mutation and can then benefit from various interventions and genetic counseling.

However, this kind of genetic screening has been done mainly in Ashkenazi Jewish women and other white women of European descent. Little is known of how genetics impacts on African American women with breast cancer. A team at the University of Chicago Medical Center now report on a study of families affected by breast cancer, with different ethnic backgrounds.

They found that BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations do occur in African American women. But they are different mutations from those found in white women. It's now time, the researchers say, to start developing a program for genetic testing that could be used to pinpoint African American women at genetic risk of breast cancer. Studies are now needed to validate the role of genetic testing in this group and to create relevant risk prediction models for underpinning counseling.

Source
Journal of the American Medical Association 19th October 2005 Volume 294 pages 1925-1933

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