Gene Found to Raise Cancer Rate in Jews
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Two studies published in the October issue of Nature Genetics indicate that about 1 in 100 Jewish women of Eastern European descent, or about four times as many as previously thought, harbors a specific genetic mutation that increases her risk of breast and ovarian cancer. The gene in question, called BRCA2, is almost never mutated in other ethnic groups and is unrelated to a gene called BRCA1, which also increases the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Previous research had already found BRCA1 mutations in about 1% of Jews of Eastern European descent.
