Breast Cancer Higher in Blacks With Variant
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From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Black women who have one variant of the gene ND3 are 60% more likely to develop invasive breast cancer than they would without the genetic marker, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Cancer Research.
About 5% of black women and 80% of white women carry the variant. The high incidence of the mutation in whites made it difficult for researchers to study the gene. In its altered form, ND3 produces an amino acid, threonine, that increases the risk for several diseases, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
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