A MUTATION in a certain gene linked to an increased risk of
breast and ovarian cancer could help with prevention measures,
research has found. A team of researchers led by the Institute
of Cancer Research (ICR) found that mutations in a gene called
PPM1D is linked to an increased risk of the two cancers. Women
with PPM1D mutations have a 20pc chance of developing breast or
ovarian cancer – double the breast cancer risk and more than 10
times the ovarian cancer risk of women in the general
population. However, the discovery could help with genetic
testing and prevention in particular for ovarian cancer, which
is often diagnosed at an advanced stage. The study, published in
the journal 'Nature' this week, said that PPM1D seems to be
working in a completely different way to other genes known to
increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, such as BRCA1
and BRCA2. Study leader Professor Nazneen Rahman, head of
genetics at the ICR and head of the cancer genetics clinical
unit at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation