Latino Briefs Digest

This monthly digest is written primarily for the staff of UC Cooperative Extension. It is produced by the staff of ANR's News and Information Outreach in Spanish (NOS) based on news reported by mainstream news media and reputable research institutions. Inclusion in the digest does not imply endorsement, nor does SBMS assume responsibility for the veracity of the information. We invite our readers to refer to the source to read more of each particular brief; we'll try to always include a link.

One of the largest multiracial studies of a gene mutation linked to breast and ovarian cancer, already known to be more common in Ashkenazi Jewish women, has found the mutation to be more prevalent in Hispanic and young African-American women as well. Researchers at the Northern California Cancer Center and the Stanford Cancer Center reported the finding from a study of 3,181 breast cancer patients in Northern California. It revealed that although Ashkenazi Jewish women with breast cancer had the highest rate of the BRCA1 mutation at 8.3 percent, Hispanic women with breast cancer were next most likely, with a rate of 3.5 percent. Non-Hispanic whites with breast cancer showed a 2.2 percent rate, followed by 1.3 percent of African-American women of all ages and 0.5 percent in Asian-American women. Of the African-American breast cancer patients under age 35, 16.7 percent had the mutation. The researchers hope the information will prompts genetic counselors to develop materials for discussing breast cancer risk in a culturally sensitive way and in languages other than English. The risk of a woman developing breast cancer sometime during her life is about one in eight. Although death rates from the disease are dropping, the American Cancer Society estimates that 40,000 women will die from the disease this year. All people have the BRCA1 gene, which makes a protein that helps the cell repair its DNA. Women who inherit a mutation in that gene from either parent are less able to fix DNA damage and tend to accumulate mutations that lead to cancer. They have a roughly 65 percent risk of developing breast cancer and 39 percent risk of ovarian cancer. If one family member tests positive for a mutation, it can alert other women in the family to also get tested and to take preventive measures.