One in 100 people who have grandparents from Orkney have a gene variant that causes a higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, a study has found.

Published in the European Journal of Human Genetics, leading geneticists from the Universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh have linked a variant in the gene BRCA1 to a historic origin in Westray, Orkney.

Currently in Scotland the test is available to those who know of a direct family connection to the gene or have a history of ovarian or breast cancer in their family.

Now planning is underway for a small pilot trial organized by NHS Grampian that will offer…