Breast Cancer Health Center

Cutting Genetic Breast Cancer Risk

Prevention Research Needed

This new breast cancer research adds another preventive measure to a growing list, which includes screening starting at an early age, prevention drugs such as tamoxifen, and risk-reducing surgeries of the breast, King says.

The findings apply to all women: Other breast cancer research has shown that exercise and healthy weight in early life are protective against breast cancer after menopause, she reports.

Indeed, a variety of factors such as dietary, reproductive, hormonal, and environmental factors likely influence the effect of these mutated genes on cancer risks. Extensive breast cancer research is needed on all these factors, writes Ephrat Levy-Lahad, with the Medical Genetics Unit at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, in an accompanying editorial.