One of the more important aspects of breast cancer research is identifying risk factors. By identifying risk factors, and controlling those which are modifiable, we are able to reduce the risk of breast cancer incidence. Treatments are also being developed to be able to control, if not eliminate, the "uncontrollable" risk factors. Development of new technology for better breast imaging is also being done. With better equipment, tumors can easily be detected, even for those women who have high breast density.
Among the developments in breast cancer research is the discovery of a new gene that can increase breast cancer risk. As we already know, BRCA1 and BRCA2 are the two genes that can be linked to breast cancer. These are genes that we inherit from our parents. That is why if one parent has had cancer, the risk of acquiring this defective gene is high, making the risk of breast cancer also high. However, even if one inherits a bad gene, one gene is sufficient to do its task, which is to control cell growth.
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