Jolie gene cancer ‘no more deadly’

A BREAST cancer caused by the type of faulty gene that affects Angelina Jolie is no more dangerous or aggressive than any other form of the disease, researchers have found.

Women with breast cancer caused by the mutated BRCA gene have the same chances of survival as other women with breast tumours, UK scientists have discovered.

However, the mutation still means women have a 90 per cent chance of getting breast cancer.

The research, led by the University of Southampton, could lead to less drastic treatment.

Until now, many women with the gene mutation, including Miss Jolie, have had both breasts removed as a preventive measure, as doctors believed it was potentially very aggressive.

But the study showed less invasive ‘breast conserving’ surgery, which simply removes a tumour if one occurs, is just as safe.

The study of 2,700 women aged 18 to 40, published in the Lancet journal, showed those with the mutated gene had a 73.4 per cent chance of surviving ten years after diagnosis. This compared to 70.1 per cent for women with other breast cancers.

The study involved 127 hospitals across the UK and included 2,733 women aged 18 to 40 who had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time.

Consultant breast surgeon Fiona MacNeill, of the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in London, said: ‘This study can reassure young women with breast cancer ... that breast conservation with radiotherapy is a safe option in the first decade after diagnosis.’