Hereditary testing for some women under 50

Dr Andrew Tutt, Director of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Unit at King’s College London, is the co-author of research which calls for women under 50, with triple negative breast cancer, to be offered testing for BRCA1 gene faults. The analysis used data from the Triple Negative Trial which is part-funded by Breakthrough Breast Cancer.. 

Dr Sarah Rawlings, Head of Policy and Public Health at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said:

“It’s vitally important that BRCA faults are identified as this means families have the information they need to make key decisions about their health.

"Over the past few years genetic testing has become faster, cheaper and more informative which means now is the right time to re-evaluate who qualifies for this testing.  The good news is that NICE is currently updating its guidelines on BRCA testing.

"We hope this new information will be considered by NICE to ensure that patients get the care that’s right for them.”

The research was led by scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research. 

We would like to thank the Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation for fully funding Breakthrough Breast Cancer’s participation in the Triple Negative Clinical Trial