New research suggests that more than 80,000 cases of cancer could be prevented if ALL woman over the age of 30 were offered screening for gene mutate.
According to researchers from Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London and Barts Health NHS Trust, implementing a program for testing all British women over 30 years old could result in far fewer cases of ovarian and breast cancer; almost 17,000 fewer ovarian cancers and 64,000 lesser breast cancers.
How would testing women for cancer-causing gene mutations prevent cancers?
National Cancer Institute (NCI) said that, "We found long-term oral contraceptive use reduced ovarian cancer risk universally - it didn't matter how healthy you were later in life or if you had a family history of the disease; all women experienced the benefit", said Britton Trabert, the study's senior author and epidemiologist from the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics".
Previous studies have shown women carrying either a BRCA 1 or BRCA2 gene mutation have between a 17-44% chance of developing ovarian cancer and a 69-72% chance of developing breast cancer over their lifetime.
The findings of the study suggested population testing for multiple cancer genes was the most cost-effective strategy. "The impact that this study could have on healthcare in the future for these cancers is promising and an exciting step forward in prevention".
In addition, women with a faulty BRCA gene and a family history of ovarian cancer sometimes opt to have their ovaries removed as a preventative measure. A number of other genetic changes also increase risk, albeit to a lesser extent.
Dr. Ranjit Manchanda, Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist, Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London, and Barts Health NHS Trust, UK, commented that novel progressions in genomic medicine provide the opportunity to present a new population-based predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine strategy for the prevention of cancer. And for some women, finding out they carry a mutation could cause unnecessary anxiety.
When the scientists looked at lifestyle factors that might affect the cancer risk among pill users, for example, they found that women who used the pill and were obese, smoked or did not exercise had among the lowest ovarian cancer rates.