Genetics has no bearing on invasive breast cancer risk

Women in their 40s with no family history of breast cancer have the same risk of developing invasive breast cancer as those women with a family history with the disease, according to a new study.

Researchers at Elizabeth Wende Breast Care performed a retrospective analysis to identify the number and type of cancers diagnosed among women between the ages of 40 and 49 with and without histories of breast cancer.

It was found that of the 373 patients diagnosed with breast cancer, 39 percent had a family history of breast cancer, and 61 percent had no family history of breast cancer.

The discovery allows scientists to focus their research on non-genetic pathways to combat invasive forms of the disease.

Invasive breast cancer is thought to be caused by an over-expressed protein that converts non-invasive tumours into invasive ones.

Active breast cancer is released to spread as invasive cancer when the over-expressed protein converts it to a different cell type.

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