The model will enable, for the first time in Israel, the determination of a personal genetic risk score for breast cancer based on an individual’s genetic profile.

The technique, which could form the basis for the implementation of a personalized early detection policy, may save lives and enable a more efficient use of the health system’s resources, the university said in a press release.

The research, which was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Medical Genetics, was based on a large-scale international study that included the genomic data of about a quarter of a million women with and without breast cancer, and applied its findings to about 2,000 Israeli women.

“Our method will allow the health system to move to a personalized early detection policy… those who are identified as being at high risk will be tested from a younger age and more frequently,” said professor Rani Elkon of the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at TAU’s School of Medicine.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women around the world, after lung cancer. While steadily on the decline over the last several decades, the chances are that 1 in 39 women, or 2.5%, will succumb to the disease.

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