Penn study shows risk of breast and ovarian cancer may differ by type of BRCA1, BRCA2 mutation

In a study involving more than 31,000 women with cancer-causing mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, researchers at the Basser Center for BRCA, the Abramson Cancer Center, and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, identified mutations that are associated with significantly different risks of breast and ovarian cancers. Authors say the results – which show that some mutations confer higher risks of breast cancer, while other mutations show higher risks of ovarian cancer – may lead to more effective cancer risk assessment, care and prevention strategies for health care providers and carriers. Read more here.