FORCE's eXamining the Relevance of Articles for You (XRAY) program looks behind the headlines of cancer news to help you understand what the research means for you.
XRAY is a reliable source of hereditary cancer research-related news and information.
Learn more about the XRAY program
Keyword: brca
Relevance: High


Strength of Science: Medium-High


Research Timeline: Post Approval


Study : Gaps in information about breast cancer risk and prevention impact African American women
Relevance: High


Strength of Science: Medium-High


Research Timeline: Post Approval


Most relevant for: African American women who are at high risk for breast cancer
A study showed that African American women with increased breast cancer risk experienced greater burdens in obtaining information at each step compared to white women. Racial differences in preventive choices correlated with differences in information and provider access. (3/14/19)
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Relevance: Medium-High


Strength of Science: Medium-High


Research Timeline: Post Approval


Study : Prevalence of BRCA founder mutations in Bahamian women
Relevance: Medium-High


Strength of Science: Medium-High


Research Timeline: Post Approval


Most relevant for: Bahamanian women
The Bahamas has the highest known frequency of BRCA mutations among people diagnosed with breast cancer. This study reviewed whether population-based BRCA testing (testing everyone regardless of family or personal history of cancer) would be an effective approach for finding mutation carriers in the Bahamas. (3/4/19)
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Relevance: Medium-High


Study : FORCE online survey: What breast cancer information do young women want and where do they look for it?
Relevance: Medium-High


Most relevant for: Young women and the health care providers who treat them
FORCE developed the CDC-funded Examining Relevance of Articles to Young Survivors or XRAYS program to help young breast cancer survivors and those at high-risk better understand media coverage about new breast cancer research. To ensure that the program would be responsive to users’ needs, FORCE designed a web-based survey to assess where young women look for information about breast cancer and to learn their unmet information needs. The results of this survey were published in the journal Health Communications. (1/18/19)
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Relevance: Medium-High


Strength of Science: Medium-High


Study : Breast cancer risk increases modestly after childbirth
Relevance: Medium-High


Strength of Science: Medium-High


Most relevant for: Women in their childbearing years
Does having children alter the risk of breast cancer? Women who give birth have a lower lifetime risk of breast cancer. However, newer data suggests that breast cancer risk increases immediately after childbirth. A study published in December 2018 examines data from the Premenopausal Breast Cancer Collective Group seeking to clarify this issue. (12/28/18)
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Relevance: Medium-High


Strength of Science: High


Research Timeline: Post Approval


Study : Inherited breast cancer in Nigerian women
Relevance: Medium-High


Strength of Science: High


Research Timeline: Post Approval


Most relevant for: Nigerian women or women of Nigerian descent who have breast cancer
A new study shows that among Nigerian women, one in eight cases of breast cancer is due to an inherited mutation in BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2 or TP53. (12/5/18)
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Personal Story : Pamela Munster's story of cancer in the family
Most relevant for: People with an inherited mutation linked to cancer
In her essay in The Washington Post, Dr. Pamela Munster recounts her family's history with cancer associated with a mutation in the BRCA2 gene. She details her father's extraordinary journey with pancreatic cancer, one of the most aggressive and deadly cancers. (11/27/18)
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Relevance: High


Strength of Science: High


Research Timeline: Post Approval


Study : Can population-based DNA sequencing find more people at risk for hereditary cancers?
Relevance: High


Strength of Science: High


Research Timeline: Post Approval


Most relevant for: Women over age 30
It is well documented that many BRCA mutation carriers are missed using current family history-based screening approaches. As a result, experts are beginning to call for population-based BRCA genetic testing—an organized effort to screen all women like we do for breast and cervical cancer. A recent study looked at whether a population-based genetic testing approach would better identify mutation carriers compared with current practice. (11/17/18)
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Relevance: Medium-Low


Strength of Science: Medium


Research Timeline: Human Research


Study : A new method for determining whether genetic variants in BRCA1 increase cancer risk
Relevance: Medium-Low


Strength of Science: Medium


Research Timeline: Human Research


Most relevant for: People who have a Variant of Uncertain Significance in a gene associated with cancer risk.
Ever since BRCA1 was discovered, researchers have been trying to understand which of the thousands of possible DNA changes in this gene increase cancer risk and which are harmless changes. A new study in Nature reports how a cutting-edge technology called “genome editing” may be used to classify changes—known as variants of uncertain significance-in BRCA1 as harmful or harmless. Once validated, this same technology may be used to classify variants in other genes. (9/29/18)
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Relevance: Medium-High


Strength of Science: High


Research Timeline: Post Approval


Study : Hormone therapy and breast cancer risk after ovary removal in women with a BRCA1 mutation
Relevance: Medium-High


Strength of Science: High


Research Timeline: Post Approval


Most relevant for: Women with BRCA1 mutations who have had risk-reducing ovary removal and have never been diagnosed with breast cancer
Does hormone therapy (HT) alter the risk of breast cancer for woman carrying a BRCA1 mutation who have never been diagnosed with cancer? In this study, researchers showed that among women with BRCA1 mutations, HT use did not increase breast cancer rates for 10 years after ovary removal. More women taking combined estrogen plus progesterone developed breast cancer compared to those taking estrogen only, though this difference was not statistically significant. (9/7/18)

Relevance: Medium-High


Strength of Science: Medium-High


Research Timeline: Post Approval


Study : Study identifies genes associated with risk of triple-negative breast cancer
Relevance: Medium-High


Strength of Science: Medium-High


Research Timeline: Post Approval


Most relevant for: People diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer
Panel testing can identify women who are at increased risk for breast cancer. However, those at risk for triple-negative breast cancer cannot easily be identified because other than BRCA1, genes that increase the risk for triple-negative breast cancer are unknown. A new study uses panel testing to identify which genes increase the risk for triple-negative breast cancer. (8/23/18)
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