• Question: Is breast cancer genetic?

    Asked by to Claire, Ian, Sergey, Vicky, Zena on 24 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Claire Shooter

      Claire Shooter answered on 24 Jun 2014:

      There are some genetic mutations which you can inherit from your parents that increase your chances of getting breast and ovarian cancer. BRCA-1 mutations can cause a very severe kind, and if you have two copies of this mutation from your parents you are more likely to get either breast or ovarian cancer.

      All cancers are genetic in the sense that they start when a mutation in a cell causes the cell to start dividing uncontrollably. Mostly these aren’t mutations you inherit from your parents, but something that goes wrong in one of your cells when it divides.

    • Photo: Sergey Lamzin

      Sergey Lamzin answered on 24 Jun 2014:

      As Claire pointed out – you can not inherit the cancer itself from your parents. If you would – you wouldn’t be alive today.

      What you can inherit are certain weak spots within your genetic makeup that allow certain cancers to emerge more easier than others.
      The absence of those genetic weak spots does not mean you will never get cancer either – everyone is at risk. It’s life, it’s random.
      You play the hand you are dealt.

    • Photo: Ian Simpson

      Ian Simpson answered on 25 Jun 2014:

      The current estimates are of the order of 5-10% of breast cancer cases being genetic (and by that I guess you mean hereditary). With two affected close relatives the individual risk can be as high as around 20%. The infamous genes associated with about 90% of the genetic risk are BRCA1 and BRCA2. If you carry a particular mutation in one of those you can have a 60-80% chance of developing breast/ovarian cancer some people decide to undergo pre-emptive surgery to minimise risk of developing cancer in the future, most recently and famously Angelina Jolie :-

      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/10055488/Angelina-Jolie-I-had-a-double-mastectomy-to-reduce-my-breast-cancer-risk.html

      The discovery of the BRCA1 gene as a cause of hereditary breast cancer was a major breakthrough and is a very interesting story. Although there were some earlier clues, the breakthrough study was at the University of Utah. The main reason they got there first was the genetic family histories they had access to through the large Mormon population. Part of their religion involves keeping extremely detailed genealogical records of families from around the world. These help genetics researchers when they are looking for heritable disease patterns.

      Prof. Steve Jones tells the story of the contribution of the Mormon religion to genetics in his book “In the Blood: God, Genes and Destiny” which I highly recommend reading if you’re interested in Genetics.

      http://www.amazon.co.uk/In-Blood-God-Genes-Destiny/dp/0002555123

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