Hereditary mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes appear to have a significant influence on the premature development of several malignant tumors. The most important is definitely breast cancer (BRCA stands for Breast Cancer ), but ovarian cancer and prostate cancer should not be overlooked either.
As for ovarian cancer, 12% of cases appear to be related to an inherited BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.
Moreover, recent studies report that this malignant neoplasm affects about 39% of women under the age of 70 with an inherited mutation in BRCA1 and 11-17% of women under age 70 with an inherited mutation in BRCA2.
As for prostate cancer, several researchers claim that an inherited mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 could be found in at least 39% of prostate cancer subjects. However, further studies are needed to delineate the influence of BRCA1 or BRCA2 on the development of this type of neoplasm.
In the human genome there are other genes similar to BRCA1 and BRCA2, which, when they are mutated from birth, predispose to the premature development of different forms of cancer.
