It’s Jewish Genetic Screening Awareness Week. Experts want you to get tested
Jews are at increased risk for several diseases. Here's how to get screened for them
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Fast Forward US Task Force: Ashkenazi Jewish Women Should Test For Breast Cancer Genes
(JTA) — Ashkenazi Jewish women should be screened for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes linked to breast cancer. That’s the recommendation by a U.S. task force announced in an editorial this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. One in 40 Ashkenazi Jews have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, compared with one in…
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Fast Forward 23andMe Risk Test Misses Almost 90 Percent of BRCA Mutation Carriers
Update, 9:20 a.m.: This story has been updated with 23andMe’s response. A recent study found that 23andMe’s direct-to-consumer BRCA test misses almost 90% of mutation carriers, GenomeWeb reported. Researchers at Invitae, a genetic information company, led the study into 23andMe’s test, which looks for three common branches in the cancer-causing BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Mutations…
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News Is 23andMe’s Test For Breast Cancer Gene Mutation Good For Jewish Women?
Most Jewish women face the question at some point: To test, or not to test. It is widely understood that Ashkenazi women are uniquely at risk for breast and uterine cancers — a risk that boils down to a few genetic indicators. Now, the genetic testing behemoth 23andMe is offering a new, FDA-approved test for…
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Breaking News New Study Of Ashkenazi Cancer Gene Could Be A Model For Genetic Testing
NEW YORK (JTA) — A new study will provide free testing for three mutations that substantially increase the risk for developing breast, ovarian and prostate cancer among people with Eastern European Jewish ancestry. The BRCA Founder Outreach Study (BFOR), which was launched last week, will test 4,000 men and women in four U.S. cities —…
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Fast Forward 23andMe Can Now Test Your DNA For Breast Cancer Risk
23andMe recently received FDA approval to inform customers of its popular mail-in DNA tests about their risk for breast cancer, the Atlantic reported. 23andMe is the first company to get federal approval for a direct-to-consumer genetic cancer risk test. The FDA sanctioned 23andMe’s request to tell customers whether they have mutations on the genes BRCA-1…
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Fast Forward Beyond BRCA, Study Reveals 72 Mutations That May Lead To Breast Cancer
A study combining data from over 300 institutions around the world has found 72 new genetic mutations that may lead to the development of breast cancer, CNN reported. Seven of the mutations found lead to a type of breast cancer that doesn’t respond to traditional hormonal therapies, like tamoxifen. The total known number of mutations…
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Life Why Jewish Women Are a Challenging Demographic in Fight Against Breast Cancer
Public health officials trying to fight breast cancer in Australia find the country’s Jewish population especially challenging. That’s because Australia’s Jewish community of 112,000 is overwhelmingly Ashkenazi, or of European origin, and counts a high number of descendents of Holocaust survivors, said Lesley Andrews, a doctor at Prince of Whales hospital in Randwick, Australia. Andrews…
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