Gene mutations found that are unique to Cyprus

TWO Cyprus-specific gene mutations that increase the likelihood of breast cancer have been identified by the Institute of Neurology and Genetics.

The genetic changes – in genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 – “haven’t been found anywhere else in the world – not even Greece,” said head of electron microscopy and molecular pathology Kyriacos Kyriacou.

Kyriacou said that whereas the average European family would run a risk of 10 to 12 per cent of getting breast cancer, a Cypriot family with the genetic mutation would have a seven-fold higher risk of developing cancer.

The institute has identified about 70 to 80 families carrying the genetic mutations in either gene (but not both).

The members of those families are at risk of developing breast cancer much earlier and should be getting regular screenings from the age of 30 onwards, Kyriacou added.

“Women with a history of breast cancer in their family can be referred to the institute for a genetics check via their personal doctor,” Kyriacou said.

The research is still ongoing.

“In cancer many genes mutate,” Kyriacou said, adding that it is difficult to find “the key ones” which multiply out of control causing cancer.

“Imagine that out of the 25,000 genes in a single cell – we only know what 3,000 do,” he added.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer for women in Cyprus.

Currently, 97 per cent of those diagnosed have an average survival rate of nine to ten years, Kyriacou said.

To assist their project, Marfin Laiki’s Woman’s Card has donated €150,000 to fund the institute’s research and is offering women who sign up to the card a free pap smear.