International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Women's health scientists have used the latest DNA sequencing technology to fast track the discovery of a new breast cancer risk gene.

An international team of researchers based at the University of Melbourne, Australia believe the genetic identification could aid the future treatment of the disease.

"The mutations in the newly identified gene XRCC2, although rare, explain another proportion of breast cancers that run in families where there is no known genetic cause," said lead author Professor Melissa Southey of the educational establishment's Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory.

She believes that the technological advancements used to sequence the DNA could expediate other such breakthroughs in the future.

Presently, only around 30 per cent of the hereditary cases of breast cancer can be associated with specific genes.

Breast cancer is the most common form of the disease in women worldwide, with nearly 1.5 million diagnosed in 2010, according to the World Health Organization.