A growing number of young women with breast cancer are being
tested for the BRCA gene mutations that substantially raise the risks
of breast and ovarian tumors, a new study shows.
Researchers
found that of nearly 900 women who developed breast cancer at age 40 or
younger, most had undergone BRCA testing within a year of their
diagnosis.
And the percentage went up over time: By 2013, 95 percent had been tested, according to findings published online Feb. 11 in JAMA Oncology.
Experts
called the results good news, since BRCA testing has long been
recommended for women diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 50. "This
is great, it's heartening," said Dr. Jeffrey Weitzel, director of
clinical cancer genetics at City of Hope, in Duarte, Calif.
But,
he added, women in the study were largely white, well-educated and had
health insurance, and it's unlikely that disadvantaged U.S. women
would show the same high rate of BRCA testing.
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