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Many women at risk for breast cancer don’t fully understand the genetics behind the disease

Category: Breast

Regular breast cancer testing is among the most important ways to prevent the potentially deadly disease, but many women who are at the highest risk of developing tumors - those who have a history of cancer in their family - may not be fully aware of their risk.

Researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute recently surveyed a group of young women whose mothers are carriers of genetic mutations that put a person at increased risk of breast cancer. While most of these participants said they were concerned about the disease, few fully understood how their genetics made them more likely to develop breast cancer, according to HealthDay News.

"Young, high-risk women have little knowledge about the probabilities and options for managing the cancers for which their risks are remarkably increased. Further, many report intense anxiety related to their potential cancer development," lead researcher Andrea Farkas Patenaude told the news source.

The American Cancer Society estimates that up to 10 percent of all cases of breast cancer are directly caused by genetic factors. This underscores the need for regular breast cancer testing among the offspring of women whose genes make them more likely to develop the disease.