Experts Say No to Widespread Breast Cancer Gene Screening

September 16, 2005 08:40:47 PM PST

The BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which increase a woman's risk for developing breast and ovarian cancer, are often inherited in women of families, immediate or extended, with breast or ovarian cancer, including women of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.

While 2 percent of women in the United States have family histories that indicate an increased risk for inheriting mutations in BRCA genes, not all women with these histories will have an inherited mutation. And not all with a mutation will develop breast or ovarian cancer, said experts on the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) panel.

They published their recommendations in a recent issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Screening for BRCA mutations involves counseling and risk assessment by a professional, DNA testing for at-risk women and post-test counseling after the results have been disclosed.

The new recommendations can also help primary-care doctors and women face some of the complexities of gene testing, Dr. Wylie Burke, chairman of the department of medical history at the University of Washington, said in a prepared statement.

Although the USPSTF, an independent panel sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, has no authority to mandate that its recommendations be followed, many professional medical organizations endorse its recommendations.

More information

To learn more about the BRCA1 and BCRA2 genes, visit the National Cancer Institute.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease Linked to Other Illnesses

September 18, 2005 08:40:30 PM PST

IBD includes a number of chronic ailments such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

The first study found a nearly twofold increased risk of multiple sclerosis in IBD patients. The researchers from the University of Pennsylvania also linked IBD to optic neuritis and other neurological disorders.

In the second study, Canadian researchers at the University of Manitoba found that IBD patients have a significantly increased prevalence of asthma, bronchitis, arthritis and psoriasis.

"These studies remind us that the effects of inflammatory bowel disorders extend to every corner of the body, including the lungs and central nervous system," said Dr. Edward V. Loftus Jr., author of an accompanying editorial and an associate professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.

"The findings lend credence to the concept that patients with one chronic inflammatory condition are more likely than the general population to develop another," Loftus concluded.

More information

The National Institutes of Health has more about Crohn's disease