LOS ANGELES, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers want women to know familial breast-ovarian cancer syndrome results in a 90 percent risk of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer.
The Women's Cancer Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is joining with the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation to educate women about familial breast-ovarian cancer syndrome this September during Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month.
Studies have shown that about one of every 500 individuals in the general population is a member of a family that will inherit and pass on a mutation in the Breast Cancer 1 -- BRCA1 -- or the Breast Cancer 2 -- BRCA2 -- gene, the cause of familial breast-ovarian cancer syndrome.
Women of Ashkenazi Jewish descent have a 1 in 40 chance of inheriting or passing on the mutation. Women with a BRCA1 gene mutation have an 80 percent chance of developing breast cancer, and a 20 percent to 40 percent chance of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
"Because of the high risk of cancer in families that carry this gene, it is extremely important for women to know their family history of these cancers ... and be screened regularly," says Dr. Beth Karlan, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
