1. Ashkenazi Jews and Breast Cancer: The Consequences of Linking Ethnic Identity to Genetic Disease
- Author
-
Jill A. Conte, Nathan F. Drummond, Sherry Brandt-Rauf, Sheila M. Rothman, and Victoria H. Raveis
- Subjects
congenital, hereditary, and neonatal diseases and abnormalities ,Genetic Research ,Genes, BRCA2 ,Ethnic group ,Genes, BRCA1 ,Judaism ,Breast Neoplasms ,Disease ,Gene mutation ,Interviews as Topic ,Breast cancer ,Medicine ,Humans ,Genetic Predisposition to Disease ,Genetic Testing ,Social identity theory ,skin and connective tissue diseases ,Tay-Sachs Disease ,Social Identification ,business.industry ,Framing Health Matters ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Cancer ,nutritional and metabolic diseases ,medicine.disease ,Genealogy ,Ashkenazi jews ,Founder Effect ,Research Personnel ,Genetics, Population ,Jews ,Mutation ,Female ,business ,Medical genetics of Jews ,Demography - Abstract
We explored the advantages and disadvantages of using ethnic categories in genetic research. With the discovery that certain breast cancer gene mutations appeared to be more prevalent in Ashkenazi Jews, breast cancer researchers moved their focus from high-risk families to ethnicity. The concept of Ashkenazi Jews as genetically unique, a legacy of Tay–Sachs disease research and a particular reading of history, shaped this new approach even as methodological imprecision and new genetic and historical research challenged it. Our findings cast doubt on the accuracy and desirability of linking ethnic groups to genetic disease. Such linkages exaggerate genetic differences among ethnic groups and lead to unequal access to testing and therapy.
- Published
- 2006