Family history key in breast cancer risk

Women with a family history of breast cancer but who test negative for two genetic mutations commonly linked to it still have a very high risk of developing the disease, Canadian researchers said on Monday.

These women are four times more likely to develop breast cancer than the average woman, translating to roughly a 40 percent lifetime risk of getting the disease, according to researchers led by Dr Steven Narod of the University of Toronto.

"I think we were surprised that it was that high. But certainly at that level of risk, one would think about preventive measures," said Narod, who presented the findings at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.