Over half of Ashkenazi women carrying the gene that puts them at a high risk of developing breast cancer are not being picked up by current NHS screening, a new study claims.
Ashkenazi women are one of a number of groups more likely to carry the BRCA genetic mutation which can give women an 80 per cent chance of developing breast cancer.
Current DNA testing for breast cancer risk genes is carried out on a family history basis rather than population testing for high-risk groups.
The new trial involving 1,034 Ashkenazi Jews suggested that 56 per cent of potential cases were not picked up under NHS guidelines.
In the wider population one in 800 people carry the BRCA mutation; for Ashkenazi Jews it is one in 40.
The research was carried out at the University College London, which tested the comparative effectiveness of screening all Ashkenazi Jews with just screening those with a family history of breast cancer.
Professor Ian Jacobs, director of the trial, said: "For the Ashkenazi Jewish community specifically, this suggests that population testing for BRCA1/2 mutations could save lives."
He told the BBC: "This can save lives and money, why wouldn't the NHS want to do something that could achieve both objectives.”
