South African scientists have identified two new breast cancer genes—RAB27A and USP22—in Black women, marking the first GWAS of its kind on the continent. This breakthrough highlights the need for Africa-centred genomic research and tools to improve cancer risk prediction and treatment.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have identified a series of changes in the architecture and cell composition of connective tissues of the breast, known as stromal tissue, that is associated with an increased risk of developing aggressive breast cancer among women with benign breast disease, and poorer rates of survival among women with invasive breast cancer. This process, which they call stromal disruption, could potentially be used as a biomarker to identify women with benign breast disease who are at high risk of developing aggressive breast cancers, as well as those with breast cancer who may be at increased risk of recurrence or death.

A new treatment approach significantly improves survival rates for patients with aggressive, inherited breast cancers, according to Cambridge researchers. In a trial where cancers were treated with chemotherapy followed by a targeted cancer drug before surgery, 100% of patients survived the critical three-year period post-surgery.

*Please mention the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2025, Malaga, Spain, 11-14) if using this research*

Women who experience significant weight gain after the age of 20 and either have their first child after the age of 30 or don’t have children are almost three times more likely to develop breast cancer than those who give birth earlier and whose weight remains relatively stable, new research from the UK being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2025) has found.