We further assessed cytoskeletal protein keratin 14 (KRT14) as a key mediator of underlying mechanical states through overexpression and knockdown experiments.<h4>Findings</h4>Epithelial cells from normal tissue of young BRCA1/2 mutation carriers (n = 4), women with family history of breast cancer (n = 3), and tissue contralateral to a tumour-bearing breast (n = 9) exhibited elevated Mechano-RISQ scores, which reflects accelerated biological ageing compared to age-matched controls (n = 18). Here, KRT14 is linked to breast cancer.