23andMe discovers surprising genetic connections between breast size and breast cancer

7 novel genetic associations identified for breast size, including 3 already linked to breast cancer

2012-07-04

(Press-News.org) MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – (July 2, 2012) – Using data from its unique online research platform, 23andMe, a leading personal genetics company, has identified seven single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with breast size, including three SNPs also correlated with breast cancer in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) now published online in BMC Medical Genetics. These findings make the first concrete genetic link between breast size and breast cancer risks.

These findings were made analyzing data from 16,175 female 23andMe customers of European ancestry, comparing their answers to survey questions including bra cup size and bra band size to genetic data at millions of SNPs. The analysis controlled for age, genetic ancestry, breast surgeries, breast feeding status and pregnancy history.

"The 23andMe research platform is a robust source of new genetic discoveries and this study demonstrates that important scientific insights can come from the most unlikely places," stated 23andMe CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki. "Nearly 90 percent of our more than 150,000 customers participate in our online research allowing 23andMe to make discoveries faster and more cost effectively than traditional research models," added Wojcicki.

While some factors of breast morphology, such as density, are known to be directly implicated in breast cancer, the relationship between breast size and cancer is less clear. While breast size is heritable, this study is the first to identify genetic variants linked to differences in breast size.

"The findings in this study show that some of the same biological pathways underlie both normal breast growth and breast cancer," explained lead author Nicholas Eriksson, Ph.D. "Some studies have found that larger breast size as a young woman is associated with a slightly higher risk for breast cancer. The genetic factors we found support this concept that breast size and breast cancer are related."

The novel loci associated with breast size are rs7816345 near ZNF703, rs4849887 and rs17625845 flanking INHBB, rs12173570 near ESR1, rs7089814 in ZNF365, rs12371778 near PTHLH, and rs62314947 near AREG. Two of these SNPs are strongly correlated with SNPs associated with breast cancer (those near ESR1 and PTHLH), and a third (ZNF365) is near another breast cancer SNP. The other three loci (ZNF703, INHBB, and AREG) have strong links to estrogen regulation and breast development.

"These results provide insight into the genetic factors underlying normal breast development and show that some of these factors are shared with breast cancer," concluded Eriksson. "While these results do not directly support the known epidemiological relationships between breast size and cancer, this study contributes to a better understanding of the subtle interactions between breast morphology and breast cancer risk."

These breast size/breast cancer results continue to show the power of 23andMe's methodology in combining self-reported data on a broad range of phenotypes gathered via web-based questionnaires with genotypic data derived from self-collected saliva samples.

23andMe had previously published its first proof-of-concept results in the journal PLoS Genetics in June 2010, which reported novel associations for unusual traits such as asparagus anosmia and photic sneeze reflex and replicated associations for other common genetic traits, published the discovery of two novel genetic associations for Parkinson's disease in PLoS Genetics, and presented a major replication study of over 180 genetic associations in the journal PLoS ONE. In April of 2012, 23andMe published a study in the journal PLoS ONE which reported five novel significant genetic associations for hypothyroidism in the largest known genome-wide association study of hypothyroidism conducted to date. Most recently 23andMe published its finding of novel associations found for male pattern baldness, some of which are also linked to Parkinson's disease and prostate cancer, in PLoS Genetics.

23andMe customers see the results incorporated into the reports provided in their online accounts over time.

23andMe continues to be active in the investigation of breast cancer as it collaborates with Genentech in their InVite Study to understand how genes influence response to treatment for metastatic breast cancer. Anyone who has had metastatic breast cancer may be eligible to participate and can learn more at https://www.23andme.com/invite-study/ or by emailing invite-study@23andme.com.

INFORMATION:

About 23andMe

23andMe, Inc. is a leading personal genetics company dedicated to helping individuals understand their own genetic information through DNA analysis technologies and web-based interactive tools. The company's Personal Genome Service® enables individuals to gain deeper insights into their ancestry and inherited traits. The vision for 23andMe is to personalize healthcare by making and supporting meaningful discoveries through genetic research. 23andMe, Inc., was founded in 2006, and the company is advised by a group of renowned experts in the fields of human genetics, bioinformatics and computer science. More information is available at www.23andme.com.

Media Contacts:

Rubenstein Communications
1345 Ave of the Americas
New York, NY 10105

Contacts:
Jane Rubinstein, 212-843-8287, jrubinstein@rubenstein.com
Alison Hendrie, 212-843-8029, ahendrie@rubenstein.com

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Researchers moving towards ending threat of West Nile virus

2012-07-04

Mosquitoes are buzzing once again, and with that comes the threat of West Nile virus. Tom Hobman, a researcher with the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, is making every effort to put an end to this potentially serious infection. West Nile virus infections often result in flu-like symptoms that aren't life-threatening, and some in cases, infected people show no symptoms at all. But a significant percentage of patients develop serious neurological disease that includes inflammation in the brain, paralysis and seizures. In his latest ...

Bees can 'turn back time,' reverse brain aging

2012-07-04

TEMPE, Ariz. – Scientists at Arizona State University have discovered that older honey bees effectively reverse brain aging when they take on nest responsibilities typically handled by much younger bees. While current research on human age-related dementia focuses on potential new drug treatments, researchers say these findings suggest that social interventions may be used to slow or treat age-related dementia. In a study published in the scientific journal Experimental Gerontology, a team of scientists from ASU and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, led by Gro ...

Epigenetics alters genes in rheumatoid arthritis

2012-07-04

It's not just our DNA that makes us susceptible to disease and influences its impact and outcome. Scientists are beginning to realize more and more that important changes in genes that are unrelated to changes in the DNA sequence itself – a field of study known as epigenetics – are equally influential. A research team at the University of California, San Diego – led by Gary S. Firestein, professor in the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology at UC San Diego School of Medicine – investigated a mechanism usually implicated in cancer and in fetal development, ...

First photo of shadow of single atom

2012-07-04

In an international scientific breakthrough, a Griffith University research team has been able to photograph the shadow of a single atom for the first time. "We have reached the extreme limit of microscopy; you can not see anything smaller than an atom using visible light," Professor Dave Kielpinski of Griffith University's Centre for Quantum Dynamics in Brisbane, Australia. "We wanted to investigate how few atoms are required to cast a shadow and we proved it takes just one," Professor Kielpinski said. Published this week in Nature Communications, "Absorption imaging ...

Quantum computing, no cooling required

2012-07-04

It's a challenge that's long been one of the holy grails of quantum computing: How to create quantum bits, or qubits – the key building blocks of quantum computers - that exist in a solid-state system at room temperature. Most current systems, by comparison, rely on complex and expensive equipment designed to trap a single atom or electron in a vacuum then cool the entire system to close to absolute zero. A group of Harvard scientists, led by Professor of Physics Mikhail Lukin and including graduate students Georg Kucsko and Peter Maurer, and post-doctoral researcher ...

Following the genomic pathways to stop the spread of cancer

2012-07-04

BETHESDA, MD – July 3, 2012 – As the Genetics Society of America's Model Organism to Human Biology (MOHB): Cancer Genetics Meeting in Washington, D.C. drew to a close, it was clear that the mantra for drug discovery to treat cancers in the post-genomic era is pathways. Pathways are ordered series of actions that occur as cells move from one state, through a series of intermediate states, to a final action. Because model organisms – fruit flies, roundworms, yeast, zebrafish and others – are related to humans, they share many of the same pathways, but in systems that are ...

New animal model may lead to treatments for common liver disease

2012-07-04

Scientists at Texas Biomed have developed the laboratory opossum as a new animal model to study the most common liver disease in the nation – afflicting up to 15 million Americans – and for which there is no cure. The condition, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), resembles alcoholic liver disease, but occurs in people who drink little or no alcohol. The major feature of NASH is accumulation of fat in the liver, along with inflammation and functional damage. Most people with NASH feel well and are not aware that they have a liver problem. Nevertheless, NASH can progress ...

Diving shrews -- heat before you leap

2012-07-04

How does the world's smallest mammalian diver survive icy waters to catch its prey? A recent study of American water shrews to be presented at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting in Salzburg on 1st July has surprised researchers by showing that the animals rapidly elevate body temperature immediately before diving into cold water. This behaviour is unexpected because lower body temperatures enable diving mammals to stay underwater for longer, so heating up doesn't make sense. This is because animals use up oxygen more quickly when they are warmer. According ...

In McNeil's Nebula, a young star flaunts its X-ray spots

2012-07-04

Using combined data from a trio of orbiting X-ray telescopes, including NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Japan-led Suzaku satellite, astronomers have obtained a rare glimpse of the powerful phenomena that accompany a still-forming star. A new study based on these observations indicates that intense magnetic fields drive torrents of gas into the stellar surface, where they heat large areas to millions of degrees. X-rays emitted by these hot spots betray the newborn star's rapid rotation. Astronomers first took notice of the young star, known as V1647 Orionis, in ...

Penn engineers convert a natural plant protein into drug-delivery vehicles

2012-07-04

PHILADELPHIA — Finding biocompatible carriers that can get drugs to their targets in the body involves significant challenges. Beyond practical concerns of manufacturing and loading these vehicles, the carriers must work effectively with the drug and be safe to consume. Vesicles, hollow capsules shaped like double-walled bubbles, are ideal candidates, as the body naturally produces similar structures to move chemicals from one place to another. Finding the right molecules to assemble into capsules, however, remains difficult. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Sound is a primary issue in the lives of skateboarders, study shows

Watch what you eat: NFL game advertisements promote foods high in fat, sodium

Red Dress Collection Concert hosted by Sharon Stone kicks off American Heart Month

One of the largest studies on preterm birth finds a maternal biomarker test significantly reduces neonatal morbidities and improves neonatal outcomes

One of the largest studies of its kind finds early intervention with iron delivered intravenously during pregnancy is a safe and effective treatment for anemia