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Exercise
Delays Breast Cancer in Women with Mutated Genes
Women who inherit mutations
of certain genes are at an 82 per cent lifetime risk of
developing breast cancer and have a 23 to 54 per cent risk
of ovarian cancer, according to a study that analysed the
health records of more than a thousand Jewish women.
The study, appearing in the journal Science, also found
that exercise and maintaining a healthy weight during adolescence
delays the onset of breast cancer even in women who have
mutations of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene.
Finding that cancer could be delayed, even for high risk
women, by exercise and sensible eating during the teen years
is "a source of hope," said Mary-Claire King,
first author of the study and a professor of genome sciences
at the University of Washington, Seattle.
King said the study found that women who exercised actively
when they were young - either dancing, or in team sports,
or just walking a lot - and who maintained a healthy weight
through the age of 21, were somewhat protected from breast
cancer.
"If they carried the mutation, they still had a very
high risk, but their age of diagnosis was pushed to later
in life," she said.
The study helps to clear up some of the confusion about
the risks associated with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations,
said Dr. Kenneth Offit, a physician and researcher at Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Earlier studies had suggested that the breast cancer risk
from the gene mutations ranged from 25 to 80 per cent. The
new study firmly nails the lifetime risk at 82 per cent.
For ovarian cancer, the study found the lifetime risk was
54 per cent for BRCA1 and 23 per cent for BRCA2 mutations.
Article Source: Associated Press
Article Author: N/A
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