Ashkenazi Jewish women face a higher risk of breast cancer

Not only do they have a higher risk of developing breast cancer but they also a higher risk of developing a very aggressive form of breast cancer. Researchers recently discovered that Ashkenazi Jewish women are more likely to have certain alterations in the genes "BRCA1" or "BRCA2" than women in the general population. As many as 1 in 40 Ashkenazi Jewish women (2.65%) might carry one of these alterations, which could put them at higher risk for developing breast and ovarian cancer.