Cancer
- About Cancer
- Cancer and Genetics
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Specific Cancers
- Adrenal Cancer
- Anal Cancer
- Bile Duct Cancer
- Bladder Cancer
- Bone Cancer
- Brain and Central Nervous Cancer
- Breast Cancer
- Carcinoma of Unknown Primary
- Cervical Cancer
- Colorectal Cancer
- Endometrial Cancer
- Esophageal Cancer
- Ewing Sarcoma
- Eye Cancer
- Gallbladder Cancer
- Head and Neck Cancer
- Hodgkin Disease
- Kaposi's Sarcoma
- Kidney Cancer
- Laryngeal Cancer
- Leukemia - Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)
- Leukemia - Acute Myelocytic (AML)
- Leukemia - Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
- Leukemia - Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML)
- Leukemia - General
- Liver Cancer
- Lung Cancer
- Malignant Mesothelioma
- Multiple Myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
- Oral Cancer
- Other Cancers
- Ovarian Cancer
- Pancreatic Cancer
- Penile Cancer
- Pituitary Cancer
- Prostate Cancer
- Skin Cancer - Melanoma
- Skin Cancer - Non-Melanoma
- Soft Tissue Sarcoma
- Stomach Cancer
- Testicular Cancer
- Thymus Cancer
- Thyroid Cancer
- Urethral Cancer
- Uterine Cancer
- Vaginal Cancer
- Vulvar Cancer
Genetics and Cancer - The Genetics of Breast and Ovarian Cancer
Genetics and Cancer - The Genetics of Breast and Ovarian Cancer
According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the lifetime risk for a woman to develop breast cancer is 12.8 percent or one in eight, while the lifetime risk to develop ovarian cancer isĀ 1.5 percent, or one in 67. About 80 percent of hereditary (inherited) breast cancer is caused by mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2.
Approximately 5 percent to 10 percent of breast and ovarian cancers are due to known predisposing genetic factors. This means that the majority of breast and ovarian cancers are, in fact, not inherited.
There are several genetic syndromes associated with an increased risk for breast and/or ovarian cancer that require clinical care by a physician or other healthcare professional. Listed in the directory below are some, for which we have provided a brief overview.
The Genetics of Breast and Ovarian Cancer
Hereditary Breast Ovarian Cancer Syndrome (BRCA1 / BRCA2)
The Genetics of Breast Cancer
The Genetics of Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian Cancer and Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colon Cancer (HPNCC)














