|
|
Article: Genetic testing for breast cancer criticized; A test for BRCA1, a gene linked to breast cancer, is of limited value because many women who get breast cancer don't have the gene, two Mayo cancer specialists said.(NEWS)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- March 25, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Screening women for the so-called "breast cancer gene" - even those who already have breast cancer - won't help prevent, detect or treat a significant number of cases, researchers from three major cancer centers said in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.
They said the genetic mutation known as BRCA1 is so rare, even among women in families with a high rate of breast cancer, that screening is not warranted.
The vast majority of women who develop breast cancer don't have the mutation, which means that the $2,000 genetic screening test "is not cost effective," said Dr. Fergus Crouch, a Mayo Clinic researcher who co-wrote an editorial in ...