Year: 2004
Type: report
Abstract: Besides family history of cancer and an individual's age, no single etiologic factor can identify women at an increased risk for the disease. Approximately 10% of all cases of breast cancer exhibit a familial pattern of incidence. Efforts to identify the genetic basis of familial breast cancer reached fruition some years ago, when the breast-cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 were identified. However, recent studies have suggested that mutations in these genes are associated with a smaller number (20 to 60%) of hereditary breast cancer families than originally estimated, especially in studies that have been based on population-based family materials. Several groups, including ours, are searching for additional breast cancer susceptibility genes using whole genome scanning approaches, but the success of many of these approaches depends on the underlying heterogeneity of the remaining cancer susceptibility loci. The failure, to date, to identify additional breast cancer susceptibility genes associated with a high risk of disease suggests that more than one may exist. We have taken the approach that the next BRCA genes will be those that encode for proteins whose functions are linked to important cell regulatory pathways. We have recently found one such candidate BRCA3 protein, referred to as TREX84 (p84N5).
DOI: 10.21236/ada425704
Author: Andrew K. Godwin
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W1577598389