Latest news with #MahtaabHayat
SowetanLIVE
08-08-2025
- Health
- SowetanLIVE
Dr Mahtaab Hayat – Light of the moon
Dr Mahtaab Hayat's first name means 'light of the moon' in Farsi. A glimmer of hope in the darkness, it's a fitting metaphor for the 31-year-old scientist whose work lights overlooked spaces in African women's health. Leading the first genome-wide study of breast cancer in sub-Saharan Africa, the Rustenburg-born scientist uncovered risk factors unexplored by global research. Her research, done through the University of the Witwatersrand, revealed two genetic variants that increase the risk of breast cancer in Black South African women. The discovery marked a foundational step in African-led genetic research and brought attention to the urgent need for population-specific health data on the continent. 'My sister had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer [closely related to breast cancer] a couple of years earlier, so it was still fresh in my mind. It felt deeply personal — like the universe was saying, 'Your family has just faced this. Now here's your chance to understand it better.'' The study Hayat did is well established in Western populations for breast cancer but not in Africa, and certainly not for Black African women. 'It's important, because you can't just take results from non-African populations and apply them to African ones. Our genetics are different. African genomes are much older, and that affects how genetic risks show up. So what works in or applies to one population may not hold true in another — even within sub-Saharan Africa. It's not one-size-fits-all,' she explains. The findings, based on a study of women in Soweto, are just the beginning, but they offer a critical foundation. Hayat hopes they will one day contribute to genetic screening tools that can detect high-risk individuals early, helping to save lives through personalised prevention strategies. 'Imagine being able to walk into a clinic, do a simple blood test, and get a risk score for breast cancer based on your genetics,' she says. 'That's the dream. That's the future we're working towards and I hope I am still alive to see that come to fruition.' Inherited breast cancer makes up only 5-7% of cases, with most linked to other genetic factors. This study focused on those lesser-known risks, highlighting the need for wider, Africa-focused research. Hayat grew up with three sisters and was the kind of child who never missed an assignment, always raised her hand, and often annoyed her classmates with her diligence. 'I was that kid,' she laughs. 'The one who said, 'Yes ma'am, here's my homework,' when everyone else had forgotten it existed.' But while science fascinated her, so did drama, which she took as a subject alongside biology, chemistry, and mathematics. 'I think people underestimate how much art and science overlap,' she says. 'They're both about creativity, about seeing the world in new ways and telling stories.'
TimesLIVE
10-06-2025
- Health
- TimesLIVE
Groundbreaking study finds new genes in black women causing breast cancer
Black South African women have been found to have two new genes that make them susceptible to breast cancer. Research done by the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience (SBIMB) at the Witwatersrand University found genetic factors that contribute to about 30% of breast cancer (BC) cases in South Africa. 'These genes have not been associated with the disease before, which is an important advance in understanding breast cancer risk and biology in women of African ancestry,' said Dr Mahtaab Hayat, a lead author of the study. The two new genetic variants were identified in black South African women with breast cancer enrolled in the Johannesburg Cancer Study, compared to women without cancer in the Africa Wits-INDEPTH Partnership for Genomic Research (AWI-Gen) study. Breast cancer is the second-most common cancer in South Africa and the most common cancer in women globally, with genetic factors contributing to about 30% of cases. 'Our study makes a compelling case for investing in genomic research rooted in African contexts,' said Hayat. All participants were from the Soweto region, with 2,485 population cases and 1,101 control cases. The South African BC cases and controls were well-matched and clustered, while the non-South African samples and West African populations were distinct from South African populations. The Genome-Wide Association study (Gwas), which is the first to focus on black women on the continent, was published in the journal Nature Communications. It brings to the fore the importance of deepening knowledge about the genetic basis of the disease. In the past, most breast cancer genetics research has focused on European and Asian populations, with studies of African ancestry limited primarily to African-American women, who largely descend from West African populations. A tool that estimates lifetime cancer risk based on DNA, the polygenic risk score (PRS), performed poorly in distinguishing South African women with breast cancer from those without. Dr Jean-Tristan Brandenburg, also in the SBIMB and a lead author, said this was a result of the mechanism not being tailored for the black population. 'This is because most PRSs were developed in European populations, and their inaccuracy in African populations highlights the urgent need for ancestry-specific tools in cancer risk prediction,' Brandenburg said. African populations have more genetic variation than any other population in the world, but they have been significantly underrepresented in genomic research. This means that the global understanding of disease risk and the tools and treatment developed from it are limited. 'The study reveals that more people can benefit from genetic discoveries. It proves that new risk factors are still out there, waiting to be found,' says Hayat.
The South African
08-06-2025
- Health
- The South African
New breast cancer genes found in black South African women
Wits University researchers have identified two new breast cancer genes in black South African women. This discovery marks a major step in understanding how the disease affects African populations. Genetic factors play a role in roughly 30% of breast cancer cases in South Africa. This highlights the urgent need to invest more in genomic research focused on African ancestry. One of the lead researchers, Dr Mahtaab Hayat, said the discovery marks a major step toward identifying unique risk factors in African women. 'These genes have not been associated with breast cancer before,' she said. 'They could help explain part of the disease burden we see in black communities.' Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in South Africa and the most common cancer among women globally. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that breast cancer diagnosed 2.3 million women in 2022 and killed 670 000 of them. The WHO's Global Breast Cancer Initiative aims to reduce global breast cancer mortality by 2.5% annually. Potentially preventing 2.5 million deaths between 2020 and 2040. For many in South Africa, especially in rural areas, delayed diagnosis and limited healthcare access remain major barriers to survival. Wits University researchers believe their findings may pave the way for more targeted screening and prevention programmes tailored to the needs of African women. They hope that, through more research and greater public awareness, early detection will become a reality even in South Africa's most remote communities. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Mail & Guardian
29-05-2025
- Health
- Mail & Guardian
Breakthrough research finds two new breast cancer genes in black women in South Africa
In a breakthrough study, researchers at the University of the Witswatersrand have discovered two breast cancer genes that occur in black South African women, paving the way for the development of novel treatments for the African demographic. (AFP) In a breakthrough study, researchers at the University of the Witswatersrand have discovered two The genome-wide association study (GWAS) of breast cancer was the first of its kind to be done on African women living on the continent, and led to the discovery of high-risk gene mutations in two from Soweto, from a sample size of 2 485 afflicted with breast cancer. 'Despite how many studies have been done on breast cancer, this is the first time we found that these particular mutations in these genes are associated with breast cancer,' said Mahtaab Hayat, the lead author of the study. 'It sort of alludes to the fact that results from other populations, or non-African populations can't be transferred, or can't be said to do the same thing in African populations.' Breast cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women, making up 23.2% of all female cancer cases — significantly higher than cervical cancer at 15.9% and colorectal cancer at 4.5%. Together, these top three cancers accounted for 43.5% of all cancers diagnosed in women, according to a The Stats SA report also shows that in 2019 breast cancer incidence was the highest among white women at 92.02 per 100 000 females, followed by Indian/Asian females at 53.39 and coloured females at 50.01. Black African females had the lowest breast cancer incidence rate at 21.56 per 100 000 females. 'These differences highlight substantial ethnic variation in breast cancer incidence within the country. Despite having the lowest breast cancer incidence, blacks and coloureds had the highest mortality to incidence ratio as compared with Indian/Asians and whites, which suggests a worst survival rate for black and colored population,' said Jean-Tristan Brandenburg, the co-author of the study. Breast cancer GWAS studies have been in existence for nearly 20 years, and findings have been widely published, enabling researchers to understand the cancer genetics and to develop tools and treatments to manage the disease, but the African population has been largely excluded from these studies, Brandenburg said. 'Most studies involving individuals of African ancestry have focused on African American cohorts — populations whose history, environment, and genetic background differ significantly from those living in sub-Saharan Africa, where environmental, lifestyle and genetic diversity is higher.' Inadequate funding for 'Scientists who are doing these GWAS studies didn't realise that the genomes are so different and that they wouldn't be able to apply non-African results to African results in sub-Saharan African universities [because] they don't have funding to be able to do this — they don't have the capacity to be able to do these sorts of studies, either,' she said. 'One of the hurdles we also have to cross is being able to secure funding and also have the appropriate scientists who have experience in this sort of field to be able to do the studies.' The African continent needs to invest in more capacity building to train future scientists, so that it does not lag behind, she added. The current breast cancer treatments in South Africa include a combination of surgery, breast reconstruction, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and among the black population, mastectomy is often the primary treatment option, said Brandenburg. He added that research shows there are still significant disparities in breast cancer screening, which lead to delayed diagnosis among black patients, although targeted therapies may become possible if newly identified genes are shown to have a significant effect on the cancer. 'While our current findings primarily identify genetic variants with small effects, they still contribute meaningfully to the overall understanding of breast cancer genetics,' Brandenburg said. The researchers said they would expand their sample size to include African women from other countries to better understand the genetic architecture of breast cancer across the diverse ancestries and environmental contexts in Africa. 'Ultimately, such expansion is crucial for promoting equity in breast cancer research, improving risk prediction models, and enabling the development of personalised treatment strategies tailored to African populations,' Brandenburg said.
