Breast Cancer Genetics in African Ancestry Women

The California Family Registry site is participating in a large consortium study of the genetics of breast cancer in women of African ancestry. The study, led by scientists at Vanderbilt University, the University of Southern California, and Boston University, has assembled data and DNA for over 20,000 women with breast cancer and, for comparison, for over 20,000 women who never had a breast cancer diagnosis. Women of African ancestry are more frequently diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer and they are more likely to die from breast cancer than other populations. The goal of the consortium study is to identify new genes that could be included in the development of new clinical genetic tests. Such tests are useful to identify high-risk women who could benefit from targeted breast cancer prevention or to guide cancer treatment. Your can learn more about this study here.