The first baby in the UK tested before conception for a genetic form of breast cancer has been born.<\/p>\n
Doctors at University College London said the girl and her mother were doing well following the birth this week.<\/p>\n
The embryo was screened for the altered BRCA1 gene, which would have meant the girl had a 80% chance of developing breast cancer.<\/p>\n
Women in three generations of her husband’s family have been diagnosed with the disease in their 20s. <\/p>\n
Paul Serhal, the fertility expert who treated the couple, said: “This little girl will not face the spectre of developing this genetic form of breast cancer or ovarian cancer in her adult life. <\/p>\n
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“The parents will have been spared the risk of inflicting this disease on their daughter. <\/p>\n
“The lasting legacy is the eradication of the transmission of this form of cancer that has blighted these families for generations.” <\/p>\n
Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) involves taking a cell from an embryo at the eight-cell stage of development, when it is around three-days old, and testing it. <\/p>\n
This is before conception – defined as when the embryo is implanted in the womb. <\/p>\n
Doctors then select an embryo free from rogue genes to continue the pregnancy, and discard any whose genetic profile points to future problems. <\/p>\n
Using PGD to ensure a baby does not carry an altered gene which would guarantee a baby would inherit a disease such as cystic fibrosis, is well-established. <\/p>\n
But in 2006, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said doctors could test for so-called susceptibility genes, such as BRCA1. <\/p>\n
Everybody carries a version of these genes – in fact a properly functioning BRCA1 protein helps stop cancer before it starts – but some particular variations of the genes greatly increase the risk of cancer. <\/p>\n
Increased chance<\/strong> <\/p>\n Carrying the key BRCA1 mutation in this family’s case would have given the increased chance of breast cancer and 50% chance of ovarian cancer later in life. <\/p>\n However, carrying the gene does not make cancer inevitable, and there is also a chance the disease could be cured, if caught early enough. <\/p>\n The couple, who wish to remain anonymous, wanted to eradicate the gene flaw from their family. <\/p>\n The husband’s grandmother, mother, sister and a cousin have been diagnosed with the disease. <\/p>\n If the 27-year-old woman and her husband had had a son, he could have been a carrier and passed it on to any daughters. <\/p>\n Josephine Quintavalle, of the campaign group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said: “This is nothing personal towards the girl, but I think we have gone too far. <\/p>\n “Underlying all this is eugenics.” <\/p>\n Mrs Quintavalle said the message was that “you are better off dead, than being born with this gene”. <\/p>\n “I hope 20 years down the line we will have eradicated breast cancer – not eradicated the carriers. <\/p>\n “This testing procedure is being used more and more for less and less significant reasons.” <\/p>\n But Kath McLachlan, of Breast Cancer Care, said those with the faulty BRCA1 gene would be very interested in the development. <\/p>\n “There are many complex issues to take into account before undertaking PGD, and the decision will finally come down to an individual’s personal ethics.” <\/p>\n And Professor Peter Braude, director of the Centre for PGD at Guy’s Hospital in London, said: “The decision as to whether PGD is appropriate for a couple will be made after a thorough discussion with knowledgeable genetic counsellors and clinical geneticists. <\/p>\n “It will not be suitable for everyone who has experience of breast cancer in their family, nor where the chances of the IVF needed for PGD has a low chance of succeeding.” <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-244139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n