Women’s Health
Researchers reveal new genetic risk hot spots for breast cancer Scientists have discovered another 15 genetic ‘hot-spots’ that can increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer, according to research published in Nature Genetics. In a study funded by Cancer Research UK, scientists compared tiny variations in the genetic make-up of more than 120,000 women of European ancestry, with and without breast cancer, and identified 15 new variations – called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) – that are linked to a higher risk of the disease. This new discovery means that a total of more than 90 SNPs associated with breast cancer have now been revealed through research. On average, one in every eight women in the UK will develop breast cancer at some stage in their lives. The researchers estimate that about five per cent of women have enough genetic variations to double their risk of developing breast cancer – giving them a risk of approximately one in four. A much smaller group of women, around 0.7%, have ge-
netic variations that make them three times more likely to develop breast cancer, giving them a risk of around one in three. It’s hoped that these genetic markers can be used to help identify high-risk women and could lead to improved cancer screening and prevention. Study author Professor Doug Easton, professor of genetic epidemiology at the University of Cambridge, said: “Our study is another step towards untangling the breast cancer puzzle. As well as giving us more information about how and why a higher breast cancer risk can be inherited, the genetic markers we found can help us to target screening and cancer prevention measures at those women who need them the most. “The next bit of solving the puzzle involves research to understand more about how genetic variations work to increase a woman’s risk. And we’re sure there are more of these variations still to be discovered.” The study was carried out by dozens of scientists across the world working together in the Breast Cancer Association Con-
sortium, part of the Collaborative Oncological Gene-environment Study. Each of the genetic variations, identified through this study and other research, is known to raise a woman’s risk of breast cancer by a small amount – but some people have lots of these variations which add up to a more significantly increased risk. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK, with almost 50,000 women diagnosed every year. Death rates are falling as we learn more about the disease and how to diagnose and treat it, and around 78% of people now live for at least 10 years after diagnosis. Nell Barrie, senior science communications manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “We’re gradually uncovering breast cancer’s secrets at a genetic level and learning how best to tackle this disease which still claims far too many lives. This latest study adds more detail to our genetic map of breast cancer risk and could help to develop new ways to identify women most at risk so we can spot breast cancer earlier in the future.”
Text message reminders boost breast cancer Women who received a text message reminding them about their breast cancer screening appointment were 20% more likely to attend than those who were not texted, according to a study published in the British Journal of Cancer. Researchers, funded by the Imperial College Healthcare Charity, trialled text message reminders for women aged 47-53 years old who were invited for their first appointment for breast cancer screening. The team compared around 450 women
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who were sent a text with 435 women who were not texted. It found that 72% of women who were sent a text message reminder attended their screening appointment, compared with 60% who were not. Text message reminders had the biggest impact on women from the most deprived areas who were 28% more likely to attend their first screening appointment if they were sent a text. The research found that women were almost three times more likely to cancel their appointment in advance if they were
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sent a text message reminder. Lead author, Robert Kerrison, at the Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Unit at UCL said: “We all forget things now and then, and doctor’s appointments are no exception – in fact, forgetting is one of the most commonly cited reasons why women miss breast cancer screening appointments. “Our research found that a cheap, simple text-message-reminder could boost the number of women – especially those from deprived areas – attending