Women with the “Angelina Jolie gene” could be closely monitored for their breast cancer risk and potentially avoid drastic surgery, research suggests.
The study found that women with the inherited faulty BRCA1 gene may be able to take the drug mifepristone to slow down the turnover in the cells that put them at risk of triple negative breast cancer. Mifepristone acts by blocking the effects of progesterone and is used for medical abortions where pills are taken to end the pregnancy.
According to the NHS, women with the faulty BRCA1 gene have a 65-79% lifetime risk of breast cancer and a 36-53% risk of ovarian cancer before the age of 80. The new research, published in Genome Medicine, was funded by the European Research Council and the gynaecological cancer charity the Eve Appeal.
