Breast cancer sequencing reveals new genes associated with disease

New genes associated with the development of breast cancer have been identified following the largest ever study to sequence the whole genome of the disease.

Five new genes associated with the disease and 13 new mutational signatures that influence tumour development have been identified after looking at 560 breast cancer genomes from cancer patients from the US, Europe and Asia.

Moreover, it was shown that women who carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, and therefore have an increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, had whole-cancer genome profiles that were different to other breast cancers and highly distinctive from one another.

These findings could be used to classify patients more accurately for treatment and improve understanding of the causes of tumours. This will lead to advances in the emerging field of personalised cancer therapies.

Professor Sir Mike Stratton, director of the Sanger Institute, said: "The study itself shows it is possible to sequence individual cancer genomes and this should lead to benefits for patients in the long term."