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Brca1 And Brca2 : Factors That Affect The Risk Of Breast Cancer

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The second similarity is that both BRCA1 and BRCA2 bind to Rad5 protein that is involved in maintain the integrity of the genome (Kinzler et al, 1997).

A mutation in the AT, or ATM, gene on chromosome 11 also is associated with breast cancer, and it may be much more common in the general population than BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. Seven percent of familial breast cancer may be associated with the AT gene mutation (Radford and Zehnbauer, 1996, cited in McCain, 1997). It is not known whether the AT mutation increases the risk of breast cancer for men. Ataxia teleangiectasia is an autosomal recessive neurologic syndrome. The cancer incidence among those people who inherit two copies of the AT mutation, and who are affected by Ataxia teleangiectasia syndrome, is 100 times greater that the general population. Women who have inherited one copy of the mutation (approximately 1.4% of the general population) may be more susceptible to breast cancer.

Women with mutations in the p53 gene also may be at increased risk of developing breast cancer. However, mutations of the p53 gene are rare, affecting an estimated 1 in 10,000 individuals (Athma et al., 1996 cited in McCain, 1997).

Mutations in HRAS1, the Cowden disease gene, p65, and TSG101 may also confer a higher risk of developing breast cancer (Easton et al., 1993; Krontiris et al., 1993; Greene, 1997 cited in McCain, 1997).

BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations and breast cancer seem to be distributed among a variety of populations.
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