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A member asked:
Can all breast cancer patients carry the brca genes?
6 doctors weighed in across 3 answers
No!: Many patients with breast cancer have no genetic predisposition or risk for breast cancer. However, there are several genetic markers which increase the risk of developing breast cancer over a person's lifetime.
Answered 6/11/2013
5.1k views
Yes and no: We all have the brca genes in our dna. God (or evolution, your choice) put it there with the purpose of repairing damaged dna, destroying dna that can't be repaired, and other things. When it's mutated (changed) in certain places, it does not work and leads to the development of cancer. Only a small number of breast cancer patients inherit such deleterious or "bad" mutations.
Answered 12/10/2013
5.1k views
Yes, and no: We all have the genes named brca, but we don't all have mutations in those genes. It's the brca mutations that increase the risk for breast cancer. It turns out that 85% of breast cancers have nothing to do with the brca gene. So most patients with breast cancer do not have a brca1 or brca2 mutation. I hope that answers your question!
Answered 1/16/2014
4.6k views
Related Questions
A member asked:
When I have my daughter tested for brca gene? My husband's sister was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. no other history of b.C. In our families.
9 doctors weighed in across 4 answers
A member asked:
My mother had breast cancer at 54 and her cousin was diagnosed at 45. Is this likely caused by the brca gene? My insurance won't pay for it.
5 doctors weighed in across 3 answers
A member asked:
How many relatives need to have had breastcancer before you should get genetic testing for the BRCA genes? My mother contracted breast cancer, I am 40
10 doctors weighed in across 3 answers
A member asked:
If negative for brca gene, yet father had prostate cancer, is his daughter still at risk for breast cancer? I heard they were linked.
2 doctors weighed in across 2 answers
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