Breast Cancer Susceptibility Genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 Essay

Breast cancer is the most common cancer that affects women in the United States. There are at least two majors genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) that when they mutate can cause breast cancer. These genes can be passed from parent to child, increasing the risk of developing cancer in those child that have parent carrying these genes. BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are located on chromosome 17 and chromosome 13 respectively. There is a 90% chance of developing breast cancer for a woman that has these mutated genes. In contrast, men carrying BRCA1 have no risk to develop breast cancer, but those carrying BRCA2 genes have high risk. It is important to note that mutations in these genes can be passed on to children by either parent. A man with a mutation is just†¦show more content†¦Subsequently, each cell that develops from the fertilized egg will receive this mutated gene. He states that for a cancer to manifest, two mutations must occurs. In hereditary cancers, the person inherit one mutant gene . The second mutation occurs as result of a mitotic error during the many cell division that occurs in the persons lifetime. In sporadic cases both mutation occur in the persons lifetime. In sporadic cases both mutation occurs after fertilization an are acquired much later in life. From this Kudson conclude that hereditary cancers manifest at younger age and there is a higher incidence of multiple tumors, where sporadic cancers occur late in the life and usually only a single tumor occurs. The principal causes of cancer appears to be environmental agents. A good example of this is skin cancer. The condition has increased among fair skinned people who expose themselves to too much sunshine, while being very uncommon among dark skinned races (knudson 1971, cited in Ormiston, 1995). Therefore, most genetic alteration are acquired through our life time from environmental carcinogens with only a small percentage been inherited. However, inherited cancers are very important as it appears that the genes responsible for, hereditary cancer maybe the same as those involved in sporadic malignancies. There are two important type of genes responsible for the development or cancer namely tumor suppressor because their normal function isShow MoreRelatedEssay on Breast Cancer847 Words   |  4 PagesBreast Cancer Chromosome 17 and BRCA1 Among the most common diseases affecting the female population, breast cancer develops in one of every eight American women. This means that almost 200,000 women suffer from the disease each year. Doctors would advise women to take necessary precautions, such as routine surveillance, in order to ensure a life without obtaining this disease prior to understanding any genetic linkage of breast cancer. 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