BRCA...What is it?
If you follow Angelina Jolie, and have read her mother and her story, you will appreciate this information and the importance of getting testing.
A test to detect if you are at risk with breast cancer is the BRCA Test. When you are tested positive, you have a much higher risk for developing breast and/or ovarian cancer. Even if you practice a healthy lifestyle through nutrition, exercise, and other lifestyle choices, this outcome is almost unavoidable.
A test to detect if you are at risk with breast cancer is the BRCA Test. When you are tested positive, you have a much higher risk for developing breast and/or ovarian cancer. Even if you practice a healthy lifestyle through nutrition, exercise, and other lifestyle choices, this outcome is almost unavoidable.
The scientific research done on the high-risk BRCA population benefits all cancer patients because the BRCA population is like the bell in the mine shaft, for some of the most common cancers, such as breast cancer.
BRCA is broken down into two types: BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are both human genes that produce tumor suppressor proteins. These proteins help repair damaged DNA and, therefore, play a role in ensuring the stability of the cell's genetic material. When either of these genes is mutated, or altered, such that its protein product either is not made or does not function correctly, DNA damage may not be repaired property. As a result, cells are more likely to develop additional genetic alterations that can lead to cancer.
Specific inherited mutations in BRCA increase the risk of the female breast and ovarian cancers, and they have been associated with increased risks of several additional types of cancer. Together, BRCA mutations account for about 20 to 25 percent of hereditary breast cancers; and about 5 to 10 percent of all breast cancers. In addition, mutations in BRCA account for around 15 percent of ovarian cancers overall. Breast and ovarian cancers associated with BRCA mutations tend to develop at younger ages than their non-hereditary counterparts.
A harmful BRCA mutation can be inherited from a person's mother or father. Each child of a parent who carries a mutation in one of these genes has a 50 percent change (or 1 in 2 chance) of inheriting he mutation. The effects of mutation in BRCA are seen even when a person's second copy of the gene is normal.
BRCA is broken down into two types: BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are both human genes that produce tumor suppressor proteins. These proteins help repair damaged DNA and, therefore, play a role in ensuring the stability of the cell's genetic material. When either of these genes is mutated, or altered, such that its protein product either is not made or does not function correctly, DNA damage may not be repaired property. As a result, cells are more likely to develop additional genetic alterations that can lead to cancer.
Specific inherited mutations in BRCA increase the risk of the female breast and ovarian cancers, and they have been associated with increased risks of several additional types of cancer. Together, BRCA mutations account for about 20 to 25 percent of hereditary breast cancers; and about 5 to 10 percent of all breast cancers. In addition, mutations in BRCA account for around 15 percent of ovarian cancers overall. Breast and ovarian cancers associated with BRCA mutations tend to develop at younger ages than their non-hereditary counterparts.
A harmful BRCA mutation can be inherited from a person's mother or father. Each child of a parent who carries a mutation in one of these genes has a 50 percent change (or 1 in 2 chance) of inheriting he mutation. The effects of mutation in BRCA are seen even when a person's second copy of the gene is normal.
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