The Korean Hereditary Breast Cancer Study (KOHBRA) and the OncoArray Consortium have jointly discovered 72 new mutation genes that cause breast cancer, Daelim Saint Mary's Hospital_{대림성모병원} said Wednesday.

The OncoArray Consortium is a large international research team led by Professor Doug Easton of the University of Cambridge, comprising over 300 research institutions and 550 researchers on six continents.

The research consisted of analyzing genetic information of 275,000 women worldwide, of which 146,000 were breast cancer patients. Korean hereditary breast cancer studies were also part of it.

They used a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to analyze the entire human genome, discovering mutated genes through gene comparisons between the general population without breast cancer history and the breast cancer patient group.

The study identified 72 new gene mutations associated with breast cancer outbreaks, and 65 of them in women with breast cancer. It identified the remaining seven mutation genes as causative agents of breast cancer when estrogen receptors were negative.

In total, the study has found 180 mutation genes related to breast cancer, doubling the number of genetic indicators, and making future treatment methods effective, it said.

"The results of this study will have a positive impact on the identification of new genetic mechanisms for the causes of breast cancer, as well as the guidance of future studies and the identification of genetic markers,” said Kim Sung-won_김성원, director of Daelim Saint Mary's Hospital and KOHBRA. "We hope we will be able to improve the prediction rate of breast cancer and customized treatment methods and screening methods by 72 new mutation genes."

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