Ashkenazi women advised to test breast cancer genes – The Forward

(JTA) – Ashkenazi Jewish women should be screened for BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes related to breast cancer.

This is the recommendation of a US task force announced in an editorial this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

According to studies, one in 40 Ashkenazi Jews has a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, compared to one in 300 in the general population.

According to the US Preventative Services Task Force, GPs should assess the risk of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation in women if their ancestry is subject to BRCA gene mutations, such as Ashkenazi Jewish women, and if they have already have been treated for breast or ovarian cancer.

The editorial also stated that "researchers are actively reporting higher mutation rates of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in various populations than previously."

He also called for an increase in the number of genetic counselors specializing in cancer in the United States.

The editorial was co-authored by Dr. Susan Domchek, Executive Director of the Basser Center for BRCA at the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center, and Dr. Mark Robson, Medical Oncologist and Chief of the Breast Medicine Department at the University of Pennsylvania. Memorial Sloan Kettering. Cancer Center.