In summary, the identification of a germline BRCA mutation in a woman with breast or ovarian cancer should not, at present, influence her local or systemic treatment. The recognition of a hereditary breast…

Given the uncertain utility of screening programs (secondary prevention) in this high-risk population, some women consider undergoing surgical procedures in an attempt to manage their risk. Bilateral risk-reducing…

Surveillance options for individuals with germline BRCA mutations are necessarily built on expert opinion. Unfortunately, there has been no formal demonstration that any approach will impact cancer-specific mortality…

From a clinical perspective, it is important to determine whether or not BRCA-associated malignancies are distinct, either in appearance, biology or outcome. BRCA-associated breast cancers are usually infiltrating ductal…

The identification of unaffected women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations provides an opportunity to reduce cancer mortality by enrolling such ndividuals in intensive surveillance and prevention programs.…

It is important to bear in mind that not all families with a pedigree suggestive of hereditary breast cancer are linked to BRCA1 or BRCA2. Alterations in other genes, such as…

Ethnic status strongly influences the probability of detecting a mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2. In the United States, Jewish women do not, as a group, manifest a significantly…

The probability of detecting a BRCA mutation in a given individual varies greatly with the clinical scenario. In two population-based series of unselected breast cancer cases, the rate of…

The functions of BRCA1 and BRCA2 are incompletely defined. The genes share little sequence homology, although there are some similarities in exon structure.

The susceptibility…

There are several possible explanations for the observed tendency of breast cancer to cluster in families. Chance may cause a common disorder such as breast cancer to…

Familial Breast Cancer
A family history of breast cancer has been consistently recognized as one of the most important risk factors for the disease. Various studies have suggested that between 15-25% of…