A 1995 study published in the Oct. 1 issue of Nature
Genetics and 1997 follow up study by the National
Institutes of Health found that Ashkenazi Jews may be
predisposed to breast and ovarian cancer, due to a high
incidence of specific gene alterations in this population.
If you are an Ashkenazi Jew, or would like more information
on genetic and other risk factors for breast cancer, here
are some resources that can help:
Cancer Information Service
The Cancer Information Service (CIS) is a toll-free
telephone service for the public staffed by trained
information specialists. Regional offices can provide
information on BRCA1 and referral to local resources.
Call 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237). Hours of
operation are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30
p.m., local time.
CancerFax
CancerFax is a fax back document delivery service that
makes selected NCI information available to the public
via fax. To use CancerFax, you need a fax machine with
a telephone handset, and your fax machine must be set
to "touch-tone" dial. Call 301-402-5874 from your
fax machine telephone and follow the voice prompts
to enter the code for the document you want. If you
want "Q&A: Breast Cancer and the BRCA1 Gene," enter
the document number 600350.
CancerNet
CancerNet
is a document delivery service that makes selected NCI
information available via Internet, including electronic
mail and gopher. CancerNet offers a variety of information
on breast cancer risk factors, and genetic testing,
including "Questions
and Answers About Estimating Cancer Risk in Ashkenazi
Jews".
PDQ Search Service
The PDQ Search Service provides customized searches
for health professionals from the NCI's PDQ database.
Information about BRCA1 can be obtained through a toll-free
telephone service (1-800-345-3300), e-mail (pdqsearch@icicc.nci.nih.gov),
or fax (1-800-380-1575). Hours of operation are
Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Eastern U.S.
time.
Information Associates Program
Information Associates Program members have direct access
to information on BRCA1 from the member Bulletin Board
or by using toll-free access to CancerFax. For information
on retrieving the documents on BRCA1, members can call
the Information Associates Program Member Service
Center (1-800-624-7890; 301-496-7600 outside the United
States) or send an Internet electronic mail message
( iap@icicc.nci.nih.gov).
Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.
to 8 p.m., Eastern U.S. time.
PDQ
PDQ is NCI's comprehensive peer-reviewed, clinical cancer
information database. Information on BRCA1 is available
in the PDQ News section. PDQ is available for direct
searching on-line and via CD-ROM. Members of the NCI's
Information Associates Program have unlimited access
to the database. Consult a medical librarian for additional
information.
