A 52-year-old member asked:
what does the brca in brca1 stand for?
5 doctor answers • 13 doctors weighed in
Dr. Michael Zadeh answered
General Surgery 17 years experience
Breast Cancer: The brca in brca1 and brca2 stands for breast cancer susceptibility gene. They are a type of gene known as tumor suppressor genes.
6352 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Matt Malkin answered
Anesthesiology 16 years experience
Abbreviation: Breast cancer is my guess. Genetic researchers can actually come up with some crazy names and abbreviations. The fruitfly researchers i know tend to be even wackier. Fortunately, these researchers chose something straightforward and memorable, which helps spread the word of such a serious disease.
6020 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Devon Webster answered
Medical Oncology 22 years experience
BReast CAncer: Brca is short for breast cancer. That's because mutations in these genes increase the risk for breast cancer. The mutations also increase the risk for other cancers, but the higher rate of breast cancer was identified first, so that's how the genes were named.
4568 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. Judy Mouchawar answered
Preventive Medicine 29 years experience
Breast cancer: "BR" stands for breast
"CA" stands for cancer
In the mid-1990's, after years of research, two genes were found that are changed in many families with breast cancer.
The first gene was named BRCA1 and the second gene was named BRCA2.
3566 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Brian Nguyen answered
Obstetrics and Gynecology 11 years experience
Breast Cancer: Women w/ 2+ immediate family members w/ a hx of breast/ovarian CA at 50% chance of developing breast cancer. If you have it, get screened with CA-125 blood test, ultrasound, mammogram/MRI, usually starting at age 30. Surgery after childbearing.
2771 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
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Last updated Jun 7, 2019
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