Is there a genetic mutation that increased breast cancer risk for Ashkenazi Jews?
Scientist recently discovered that there is one particular alteration in the BRCA1 gene that occurs in Ashkenazi Jewish families with breast cancer that would not normally be expected. This particular alteration is named “185delAG” because at the 185th position in the DNA code of this gene the genetic language letters A and G are deleted. Some studies have determined that approximately 1% of randomly selected Ashkenazi Jews have inherited the 185delAG alteration. This is approximately eight times higher than the estimated frequency of BRCA1 alterations in the population at large (which is about 1 in 500 to 1 in 800 individuals). An alteration in BRCA2 had also been found to be more prevalent in the Ashkenazi population. It’s name is 6174delT and initial studies indicate that approximately 1% of Ashkenazi Jews have this alteration. Unfortunately, no one knows for sure whether these mutations mean that Jewish women are at higher risk of actually developing breast cancer. Thus far, none o
