Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Beyond BRCA, Study Reveals 72 Mutations That May Lead To Breast Cancer

A study combining data from over 300 institutions around the world has found 72 new genetic mutations that may lead to the development of breast cancer, CNN reported. Seven of the mutations found lead to a type of breast cancer that doesn’t respond to traditional hormonal therapies, like tamoxifen.

The total known number of mutations that can lead to breast cancer is now 180.

The BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 breast cancer genetic mutations appear at a higher rate in the genes of Ashkenazi Jewish women. About half of the women that inherit either mutation will develop breast cancer by age 70.

Scientists behind the study say that the results will help them identify relatives of breast cancer patients who may be themselves at risk for developing the cancer. Knowing the mutations may also help advance personalized cancer care — through specific treatment regiments tailored to a person’s genes.

The study was conducted primarily among women of European background. Scientists say that efforts to uncover genetic mutations for breast cancer in Latino, Asian, African and Middle Eastern background are still underway.

“Scientists are not in competition against each other,” said professor Peter Kraft of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “We are really working together to expedite and to accelerate the discovery.”

Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.