American researchers, led by New York Medical College a physician who is an expert in the field of "storing or preserving fertility in female cancer patients", have managed to find a link between the breast cancer gene, BRCA1, and infertility.

Dr. Kutluk Oktay has reported that the mutations in the aforementioned gene, which have been directly linked with the early onset of breast cancer, can also be linked to an "early loss of egg reserves". The findings of study, for the first time, might be able to explain why greater infertility rates, as well as an increased risk of contracting breast and ovarian cancer, is found in women who carry mutations of the gene.

It has been estimated that nearly 1 in every 1,000 women is carrying a BRCA gene mutation, and this frequency is generally 2.5% more in particular ethnic groups.

For the sake of research, ovarian stimulation in 126 women suffering from breast cancer was performed, solely for the purpose of preservation of fertility by "embryo or oocyte cryopreservation", and conclusions were drawn based on the data thus collected.

Details of the study have been published on the Journal of Clinical Oncology.