Breast Cancer Risk Variants

Previous studies had provided suggestive evidence that a region on chromosome 5 might harbour risk variants that increase the risk of breast cancer.

Simon Stacey and colleagues assessed the presence of ten variants from the region in more than 6,000 individuals with breast cancer and more than 30,000 controls. Two variants in particular were significantly more common in those with breast cancer, particularly breast cancer characterized by expression of the oestrogen receptor. The closest gene in the region is MRPS30, which encodes a protein found in mitochondria that has been implicated in the promotion of cell death.

Author contact:

Simon Stacey (deCODE Genetics, Reykjavik, Iceland)
E-mail: simon.stacey@decode.is

Abstract available online.

(C) Nature Genetics press release.

Message posted by: Trevor M. D'Souza