- BRCA1 and BRCA2 are genes most people
don't know to keep an eye on until it's too late.
This is an especially big deal for many Jews,
a population that has a significantly higher risk
of being carriers.
With half of all of the women with the BRCA mutation
getting breast cancer and around 25% of men
getting prostate cancer, it's important to know what is it
and what do you need to be aware of,
especially if you're Jewish.
These breast cancer genes, or BRCA1 and BRCA2,
are genes that suppress cells from dividing uncontrollably
and becoming cancerous.
And while both genes have similar names,
they actually aren't directly related as each is a mutation
of a different chromosome.
When one or both of these genes are mutated,
they are no longer able to prevent tumors from forming,
which means that there's an increased risk of breast cancer,
as well as ovarian and pancreatic cancer, among others.
In the US, 13% of all women get breast cancer.
Meanwhile, women with a BRCA mutation have a whopping
50 to 70% chance of getting it by the time they turn 70.
And while more rare, men with these gene mutations
are also at a higher risk.
If either of your parents carry these gene mutations,
then you have a one in two chance of inheriting it.
That's why it's recommended to get tested
if you're Jewish, over 18, and have a history of cancer
in your family.
If you discover that there is a family history
talking to your doctor or to a genetic counselor
is the best way to figure out if you should undergo testing.
For those who do have it,
there are great organizations that can be of help
during the process like FORCE, One in 9, and Sharsheret
to name just a few.
There are different medical recommendations for carriers,
such as increased cancer surveillance,
regular mammograms and breast MRIs from an earlier age,
and preventative surgeries.
BRCA mutations are widely considered most prevalent
among Ashkenazi Jews with one out of 40 Ashkenazi women
having it, compared to the general populace
where it's closer to one out of 400 people.
But it's not just the Ashkenazi Jews who have to look out
for these BRCA mutations.
A number of small scale studies have shown that Jews
from Iraq, Iran, and Yemen,
as well as Jews from some other Sephardi
and Mizrahi communities might also have an increased chance
of having this gene mutation.
One of these studies even suggested that in this group,
the risk could be even higher at one in 30.
However, more comprehensive studies on the Sephardi
and Mizrahi communities are required.
And it's unclear how significant these current findings
actually are.
Now up until now, this video has been about
the BRCA mutation and how it appears
in the Jewish community.
But there's another community,
a non-Jewish community with surprisingly elevated
occurrences of BRCA.
And that is the Latin American population
in the American Southwest.
Now, of course we don't know for sure
how that connection even exists,
but here's a theory:
There's research that suggests
that one of the BRCA mutations first appeared
around 2,500 years ago in a Jew living in the Middle East.
500 years later, after the destruction of the temple
in 70 CE and the exile of many Jews from the land of Israel,
the Jewish people spread out around the Middle East,
North Africa, and Europe, including the Iberian Peninsula.
Many years later, as a result of persecution
and the Spanish inquisition,
some Jewish families called Conversos
converted to Christianity,
or they hid their Jewish faith blending in
with the flow of Spanish immigrants to the new world.
With the genetic connections between the Jewish community
and this Latin American community,
it's possible that this Latin American community
is actually descendants from those Conversos.
You can check out our video all about Conversos
by clicking on the card here or on the link
in the description if you want to learn more.
Despite Jewish communities in the Middle East and Europe
having centuries of separation between them,
these Jews aren't only connected by culture,
but also by shared ancestry.
This genetic connection between these Jewish communities
is one more chain linking the Jewish people together.
Since the correlation between Jews and BRCA mutations
is so prevalent, screening has become a priority
for Jewish communities worldwide.
Israel's ministry of health recently
launched a national program to provide free screenings
for eligible female citizens.
In the US, the CDC launched the Bring Your Brave campaign
in 2015 to provide information about breast cancer
among young women.
So where does this leave us?
Well genetic testing has allowed us to make huge strides
in both cancer prevention and diagnosis.
And it has also given us insight into the genetic similarity
between so many different Jews.
It has long been debated what it means to be a Jew.
Is Judaism a religion? An ethnicity? A culture?
Perhaps all three.
By exploring our Jewish identity through our genes,
we see that one piece of being Jewish is being part of
a historical people.