Breast and ovarian cancer linked to Orkney as women from isles 10 times more likely to develop it

Women from Orkney are ten times more likely than the rest of the UK to carry a genetic mutation which raises the risk of developing cancer, a study has found.

The screening research suggests one in 100 people with grandparents from the islands off Scotland have a mutation of the gene BRCA1 – which is commonly linked to breast and ovarian cancer.

Experts from the universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh found the gene mutation was repeatedly spotted in women from Orkney who could trace their family ancestry back to the island of Westray, which has a population of 600.

Westray islanders described feeling shocked after being told of the discovery at a recent meeting with two leading professors but have set about warning loved ones who might carry the gene.

The mutation – known as V173A – is likely to have come from someone who lived on Westray at least 250 years ago, according to the research published in the European Journal of Human Genetics.

Linda Hagan, 69, who was one of 50 islanders at the meeting, said: ‘There was a sense of shock when the news was broken.’

But attitudes began to shift. 

Mrs Hagan said: ‘People realised that at least there was now a chance of earlier diagnosis and treatment.’

Retired teaching assistant Sheena Forbes, 67, who lives in Inverness, previously tested positive for another mutation – BRCA1 – and had preventative surgery which removed her ovaries and fallopian tubes.

Mrs Forbes, whose parents were from Westray and who was born in Kirkwall, Orkney, said she had to warn her children about the gene, explaining: ‘There’s a 50-50 chance that each of them carries the mutation as well.’

Two of her daughters, aged 37 and 35, have the gene too. 

She added: ‘They each have two children and there’s always an option for them to have preventative surgery – but that would be life-changing.’ 

Mrs Forbes told the Sunday Times that she and her family ‘are blessed that we are on the list and we get regular screening… 

‘We are very fortunate we are living now and not a generation ago.’

A week after the Orcadian cancer study results were unveiled, 500 people contacted NHS Grampian’s genetic testing helpline. 

The service is free for anyone on Westray with a grandparent from the island, or for those with grandparents from elsewhere in Orkney and who have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer.

The researchers have started assessing international links to map out how prevalent the mutation is. 

They have found clusters of people with the gene as far away as Saskatchewan, Canada, and Christchurch, New Zealand. Others have been found in South Africa and Nevada.