Britain launched a research programme on Monday that should eventually allow all cancer patients to have access to the kind of genetic analysis that led Hollywood star Angelina Jolie to decide to undergo a double mastectomy. The project, involving the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London, the U.S. gene sequencing firm Illumina , geneticists…
The “faulty gene” that Angelina Jolie credited with her decision to have a preventive double mastectomy is one of three genetic mutations known as “Ashkenazi Jewish mutations,” which are common among Jews of Eastern European descent and increase their carriers’ risk of developing breast cancer. Nevertheless, relatively few Israeli woman choose to undergo the same…
Joanna Rudnick was sitting in bed recovering from undergoing a double mastectomy when she read that Angelina Jolie had undergone the exact same procedure. The Hollywood superstar shocked the world by revealing that she had decided to have the surgery after testing positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation, which is unusually common among Ashkenazi Jews….
Angelina Jolie’s decision to have a double mastectomy to prevent breast cancer may have stunned fans of the Oscar-winning actress, but doctors say her choice is shared by many other women with a high genetic risk for breast cancer. Jolie, who described her surgery and three-month recovery at length in an opinion piece in the…
Lisa Schlager waited with hundreds of other women outside the Supreme Court in Washington on April 15, hoping to hear arguments over a private company’s effort to patent a human gene that is linked to breast cancer, especially in Ashkenazi women. Schlager, 46, has a huge stake in the controversial case, as do thousands of…
The Supreme Court justices on Monday signaled reluctance to issue too broad a ruling about patents on human genes, and some indicated they might seek a compromise distinguishing between types of genetic material. The biotechnology industry has warned that an expansive ruling against Myriad Genetics Inc could threaten billions of dollars of investment. In weighing…
Supreme Court justices on Monday raised tough questions about patents on human genes held by Myriad Genetics Inc. The nine justices signaled reluctance to issue a broad ruling, indicating that some were looking for a compromise that might distinguish between types of genetic material. The biotechnology industry warns that a broad ruling against Myriad could…
Soon after learning that his son had autism, Hollywood producer Jon Shestack (“Air Force One”) tried to get researchers investigating the genetic causes of the disorder to pool their DNA samples, the better to identify genes most likely to cause that disorder. But his approach to scientists at universities across the country in the late…
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