A new breast cancer gene has been discovered — a finding that could lead to new ways to diagnose and treat the condition.

The discovery — by Women's College Hospital researcher Mohammad Akbari, M.D. — indicates mutations in a gene called RECQL are strongly linked to the onset of breast cancer. The finding, published online in the journal Nature Genetics, is based on a study of two groups of Polish and French-Canadian women, Medical Xpress reports.

"Our work is an exciting step in identifying all of the relevant genes that are associated with inherited breast cancer," said Dr. Akbari.

About 10 percent of all breast cancer cases are hereditary, but only half of all genes that scientists believe are associated with the condition have been identified.

For the latest study, researchers tracked about 20,000 different genes among 195 breast cancer patients with strong family histories of breast cancer who did not have the well-known breast cancer gene mutations known as BRCA1 and BRCA2.

The team confirmed the association of the gene, RECQL, with breast cancer by studying 25,000 more patients and unaffected people from these two populations.

In the Polish women, one type of RECQL mutation showed a five-fold increased risk for developing breast cancer, compared to individuals without a mutation. Meanwhile, among the French-Canadian patients, another type of RECQL mutation occurred 50 times more frequently among familial breast cancer patients, compared to population controls.

Dr. Akbari suggested that screening all women with breast cancer for genetic mutations, such as those occurring in RECQL, could help identify women at risk early and help speed treatments. He added that the new findings could lead to new gene cancer therapies.

"In the future, we might be able to select or develop treatments that can work around or correct relevant genetic mutations that are linked to breast cancer," explained Dr. Akbari. "This opens the door for new and better ways of approaching treatment."