September 17th Free Post

Recently i was reading this article published by the JAMA ( The Journal of American Medical Association). It discussed the linkage of both ovarian cancer and breast cancer to a single gene. Specifically the BRCA1 Gene. A mutation in this single gene gives carriers an 85% chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime and an elevated chance of ovarian cancer. Hopefully with genetic counseling it will be possible to save carriers of this gene before cancer can set in. Between 200 and 400 american women are thought to have this mutation at this very moment. If it is discovered before cancer starts growing doctors are able to greatly reduce the risk through gene therapy. I found the article at http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=405518

Hall JM, Lee MK, Newman B, et al.  Linkage of early onset breast cancer to chromosome 17q21.