Hundreds of Unidentified Gene Variants Increase Risk of Breast Cancer

Bruce Ponder of Cambridge University believes that up to a third of all cases of breast cancer in women are triggered by genetics and hundreds of mutations in dozens of genes could be involved. The best known breast cancer genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, account for only 5% of all cases. Prof Ponder is identifying others as a part of a £1.7m project at Cancer Research UK’s Cambridge Research Institute.

Our current and future research focus is on the role of normal genetic variation in determining individual risks of cancer. We have shown that polygenic effects may account for as much as a 40 fold difference in risk of breast cancer across the general population.

The Guardian, October 4, 2005