Cancer gene mutations occur more frequently than previously thought!

Medical News Today: Cancer gene mutations are found in about one percent of the total general population, occurring more frequently than previously thought, and may be associated with various types of cancers, according to researchers at Yale School of Medicine.

Published in the December 6 Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI), the study looked for the presence and rate of BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 mutations in a population of women with newly diagnosed ovarian cancer. They screened not only for the most common mutations but also for variants that may be more rare or difficult to distinguish. They then calculated the incidence of those variants in the general population and in individuals with family members who have had cancer.

Previous research has shown that lifetime risks for breast, ovarian and other cancers are elevated for people carrying the BRCA1/2 mutations. The Yale team found that the lifetime risk to age 80 is not the same for all mutations and some mutations have higher and some lower risks for developing cancers.

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