| Women who have BRCA breast cancer genetic | | | | Jewish heritage [one reason why the study was |
| mutations are just as likely to survive as | | | | done in Israel]. |
| other women who get breast cancer, according | | | | |
| to a new study published in the New England | | | | Using the Israeli National Cancer Registry, |
| Journal of Medicine. | | | | the researchers were able to compare two |
| | | | large groups of BCRA carriers and |
| Women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are more | | | | non-carriers with breast cancer. They tested |
| likely to get breast cancer. It was also | | | | the DNA from stored tumor specimens from |
| widely believed that those with hereditary | | | | patients treated in Israel between 1987- |
| breast cancer from BRCA1 mutations had worse | | | | 1998, and then reviewed the medical records |
| outcomes. This new study, tracked two groups | | | | from women whose specimens were collected. |
| of women with breast cancer in Israel, one | | | | The mutation was found in about 10% of the |
| with the inherited BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, | | | | women who were of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. |
| and the other without. The researchers found | | | | The ten year survival rates between women who |
| no significant difference in death rates | | | | had the mutation and those who did not were |
| between the two groups. Between 5 and 10 | | | | similar. |
| percent of all breast cancers are hereditary | | | | |
| and are more likely to occur with women from | | | | This news should prove reassuring for women |
| certain ethnic backgrounds like people of | | | | who carry the BRCA mutations and worry about |
| Ashkenazi (central or eastern European) | | | | breast cancer survival. |