A British baby due this week will become the first child to be born with certainty that it does not have the BRCA1 gene mutation. Approximately 5% to 10% of breast cancers are believed to be due to genetic mutations inherited from parents – the most common being the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Because the British couple conceived through in virto fertilization, they were able to screen for cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s disease, and now BRCA1, at the 6 to 8 cell stage prior to implanting the embryo into the mother’s womb. All the women on the father’s side of the family have developed breast cancer, which is why the couple decided on genetic screening. Women who inherit the BRCA1 gene have up to an 80% increase in risk of developing breast cancer.
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Tags: baby, birth, BRCA, breast cancer, britain, gene, in vitro, mutation
Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
December 22nd, 2008 at 10:58 am
There is so far no proof that long time negation of this gene site is associsted with lower can cer incidence as areas have been found where all the women have thew gene and cancer levels are lower than in this study and many others
December 22nd, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Six of this girl’s sisters weren’t given the chance to live so this one could live without a gene for breast cancer. Doesn’t this strike anyone as absurd? Cruel? Infanticidal?