What is the finding of the NIH study which appears in the Oct. 1, 1995 Nature Genetics?
NIH scientists found the BRCA1-185delAG alteration in blood samples from 1 percent (8 of 858) Ashkenazi Jews whose family or personal cancer histories are not known. This rate of alteration in the BRCA1 gene is at least three times higher than all BRCA1 alterations combined in the general population. They did not find the alteration in 815 other blood samples from individuals not selected for ethnic origin. 8. What are the implications of the study? The findings suggest that the 185delAG alteration in BRCA1 may be more common in the Ashkenazi Jewish population than in other groups. However, from these results, scientists still do not know whether, and to what degree, having the altered gene increases a woman’s risk of developing breast or ovarian cancers. To answer that question, they must study in detail the family history of cancer in Jewish women who carry the 185delAG alteration. NIH scientists are working closely with Jewish community leaders to conduct a follow-up study of a samp
