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According to a worldwide study conducted by the British scientists, a shocking result appeared that most of the breast cancer victims or survivors are suffering this deadly disease because two new genetic variants associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.

The scientists from more than 130 institutions worldwide, have studied the DNA of 100,000 women, and found that genetic variants are specifically linked to the most common form of breast cancer - oestrogen receptor positive. And around 86,000 women of European, 12,000 of Asian and 2,000 of African ancestries and half of whom had breast cancer.

"The study zoomed in on an area of our genome that we knew was linked to breast cancer risk and has identified two new genetic variants that add significantly to our knowledge about the genetic causes of the disease," said study leader Nick Orr from the Institute of Cancer Research.

The study identified of two new genetic risk factors called rs10816625 and rs13294895 for breast cancer provides important clues about the causes of the disease - implicating a gene called KLF4, which is thought to help control the way cells grow and divide.

Women with the first genetic variant identified, called rs10816625, were 12 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than women without, and those with the second variant, rs13294895, at a nine percent increased risk.

"The two new variants uncovered by this study could be factored into potential future screening tools for breast cancer that incorporate all known genetic risk factors for the disease," said professor Paul Workman, chief executive of the Institute of Cancer Research.

The study was published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics.

-Kannamsai