On Sept. 18, 2024, researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and their collaborators reported that they had identified specific genetic changes that can increase a person’s risk of breast and ovarian cancers, to help guide clinical decision-making.

The research team focused on the ‘cancer protection’ gene RAD51C, known to increase ovarian cancer risk six-fold and risk of aggressive subtypes of breast cancer four-fold. They found over 3,000 harmful genetic changes that could potentially disrupt its function and increase cancer risk. These findings were confirmed by analysing data from large-scale health databases.

The findings, published in Cell, are freely available so that they can be immediately used to help doctors and diagnostic laboratory scientists better assess cancer risk, especially for individuals with a family history of these cancers, reducing the uncertainty that often accompanies genetic testing.