Scientists at the Lundberg Laboratory for Cancer Research and the Plastic Surgery Clinic at the Sahlgrenska Academy in Sweden have discovered a new hereditary breast cancer gene.
A research has showed that women with a certain hereditary deformity syndrome are at a twenty times higher risk of suffering from breast cancer than the rest.
"Our findings are extremely important, providing new knowledge of hereditary cancer genes and how they can cause breast cancer. The discovery also makes it possible to uncover breast cancer in women who have a predisposition for Saethre-Chotzen malformation syndrome," says Göran Stenman.
The syndrome involves malformations of the face, skull, hands and feet and is caused by mutations in a gene called TWIST1.
"We have already started to use this new knowledge in our work with patients and now recommend regular mammograms for young women with this syndrome" Pelle Sahlin, chief physician at the Plastic Surgery Clinic says. "Several early cases of breast cancer have already been uncovered with mammography."