Genetics and Health

Couple’s embryos to be screened for gene that causes breast cancer

by Elaine on July 23rd, 2007

Let’s start this week’s Genetics and Health blog with a contentious subject - screening embryos for known mutations.

In the UK, the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority has just licenced University College Hospital, London to screen embryos for the BRCA breast cancer single gene mutations.  The BRCA genes raise the lifetime risk of breast cancer to between 60 and 80 per cent, and also raise the risk of ovarian cancer to 40 per cent. In men, they are linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer. Some women who know that they have inherited the gene opt for a mastectomy in order to reduce their risk, but even this cannot eliminate it completely.

The test is the first to be sanctioned in the UK for a gene that does not always cause disease in adults but carries a heightened risk. Before this decision, the procedure had only been approved for genes that invariably caused serious disorders, or that carried at least a 90 per cent risk of a disease that generally strikes in childhood.

This type of testing is known as Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD).  PGD is a genetic test that can be carried out on embryos created using in vitro fertilisation (IVF) to ensure that only embryos unaffected by a particular genetic condition are returned to a woman’s womb.  In this particular case three generations on the maternal side of the family had breast and ovarian cancer and carried BRCA1 gene mutation.

For furher information click on

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2112659.ece

Look forward to your comments.

Penny

Share This

Related Stories

Embryonic Screening for Breast Cancer Genes
Another faulty gene linked to breast cancer
Happy Birthday BRCA2!
ATM Gene and Breast Cancer
Embryo Screening: Yes or No?

POSTED IN: Blogroll, Genealogy and DNA, General Genetics and Health, Genetic Engineering, Genetic Future, Genetic Ingenuity, Genetic Testing