Do All BRCA Mutations Come with the Same Cancer Risk?

Insight


Women born with mutations in the genes BRCA1 or BRCA2 have an increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, but the degree of increase depends on a variety of factors.

Not all mutations within these genes raise the risk equally. A study published earlier this year tracked breast and ovarian cancer occurrences over a 75-year period in 31,000 women who had inherited mutations BRCA1 or BRCA2. The researchers found that mutations at either end of the BRCA1 gene increased the risk of breast cancer more than the risk of ovarian cancer. A group of mutations that occur in the middle portion of the gene, by contrast, raised ovarian cancer risk more than breast cancer risk.....

....Investigators at Dana-Farber are tracking the links between environment, heredity, and cancer in a study known as Project SEARCH.....