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| Angelina Jolie opted for surgery after learning she had an 87 per cent risk of developing breast cancer due to a defective gene. |
The findings could save the lives of thousands of women who are diagnosed each year.
Experts analysed the full genetic profiles of 600 sufferers worldwide. And they found five new mutations, like the Angelina Jolie cancer gene BRCA1, that may spur on tumours.
They also uncovered 93 sets of “instructions” for genes that, if mutated, can cause the disease.
The discovery, announced last night, could pave the way for more personalised treatments and better survival rates.
The study by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge could also help drug firms develop new medications that target mutated genes.
Researcher Professor Sir Mike Stratton said: “Finding these mutations is crucial to understanding the causes of cancer and to developing improved therapies.
“We have this complete view of breast cancer.”
His colleague Dr Serena Nik-Zainal added: “It is a step closer to personalised healthcare for cancer.”
But Prof Stratton admitted that any new drugs could still take a decade to create.
He said: “Cancers are devious beasts and they work out ways of developing resistance to new therapeutics. I’m optimistic, but it’s a tempered optimism.”
Breast cancer is the most common type of tumour in the UK. One in eight women will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime.
Dr Emma Smith, from Cancer Research UK, said: “This study throws up intriguing clues about the biological processes that go wrong in cells.
“Genetic studies on this scale could be an important stepping stone towards developing new drugs and boosting the number of people who survive cancer.”
Thesun.co.uk
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