Screening for breast cancer gene may help predict risk

NEW YORK - Screening for mutations in a gene known as CHEK2 may help determine a woman's odds of breast cancer if the disease runs in her family, according to a Polish study.

Researchers led by Cezary Cybulski of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin estimated that a woman who carries a CHEK2 mutation would have a 34 percent risk of developing breast cancer if her mother or sister had it.

US experts, however, cautioned that Polish women might be different than those in the United States and said that the test isn't quite ready for widespread use yet.