What Is the Best Risk-Reducing Decision for Breast Cancer Patients With BRCA1/2 Mutation?

One of the most significant findings of the 1990s was the discovery of the BRCA gene mutation, which was a major advancement in the prevention of breast cancer. Since the BRCA breakthrough, screening for breast cancer susceptibility genes has become of great interest to high-risk patients and their family members.1, 2 BRCA1 and BRCA2 are two major genes responsible for about 5% to 10% of all breast cancer cases and 10% to 18% of ovarian cancer cases. Carriers of BRCA1/2 mutation could have an elevated risk of 69% to 72% for breast cancer compared with the average-risk women (12%). The risk of ovarian cancer incidence is also much higher in women with a BRCA1/2 mutation than in the normal population (17%-44% vs 1.5%)