Doctors at University College London have said that the first baby in the UK tested before conception for a genetic form of breast cancer has been born.
Women in three generations of the father's family have been diagnosed with the disease in their 20s.
The couple, who wish to remain anonymous, wanted to eradicate the gene flaw from their family. The husband's grandmother, mother, sister and a cousin have been diagnosed with the disease. If the 27-year-old woman and her husband had had a son, he could have been a carrier and passed it on to any daughters.
The embryo was screened for the altered BRCA1 gene, which would have meant the girl had a 80% chance of developing breast cancer.
Paul Serhal, the fertility expert who treated the couple, said: "This little girl will not face the spectre of developing this genetic form of breast cancer or ovarian cancer in her adult life. The parents will have been spared the risk of inflicting this disease on their daughter."
Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) involves taking a cell from an embryo at the eight-cell stage of development, when it is around three-days old, and testing it. This is before conception - defined as when the embryo is implanted in the womb.
Using PGD to ensure a baby does not carry an altered gene which would guarantee a baby would inherit a disease such as cystic fibrosis, is well-established.
But in 2006, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said doctors could test for so-called susceptibility genes, such as BRCA1.
Carrying the key BRCA1 mutation in this family's case would have given the increased chance of breast cancer and 50% chance of ovarian cancer later in life. However, carrying the gene does not make cancer inevitable, and there is also a chance the disease could be cured, if caught early enough.
Dr Sarah Cant, of the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: "The decision to screen embryos to see whether they have a faulty breast cancer gene is a complex and very personal issue. It's important for anyone affected to have appropriate information and support so they can make the right choice for them."
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