Genetic Variant Shows Lower Breast Cancer Risk In Latinas

Latina women may be at a lower risk of breast cancer, according to recent findings published in the journal Nature Communications.

For the study, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) found that 20 percent of U.S. Latinas who carry this gene also have a significantly reduced risk of developing breast cancer.

For the study, researchers analyzed the DNA of 3,140 women with breast cancer and nearly 8,000 women without breast cancer from the United States, Columbia and Mexico. One specific genetic variant was identified that was associated with breast tissue that also appeared to be less dense on mammograms. Furthermore, increased breast density was linked to breast cancer.

Findings revealed that about roughly 20 percent of U.S. Latinas carried one copy of this genetic variant, which lowers breast cancer risk by nearly 40 percent.

"If we can use these results to better understand how this protects [against] estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer, that would be interesting and important, because right now we have no good way to prevent that type of breast cancer," said lead study author Dr. Elad Ziv, a professor of medicine at UCSF, in a news release.

The findings are similar to those seen by the U.S. National Cancer Institute--with Hispanic women having the lowest risk of breast cancer, in comparison to white and black individuls. Hispanic women with native American heritage were at an even lower risk of the health issue, according to study authors, as they were more likely to carry two copies of the variant.