Population-Based Screening for BRCA1 and BRCA2: 2014 Lasker Award

Inherited mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 predispose to extremely high risks of breast and ovarian cancer. But these risks are not immutable. Among women who carry mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2, surgical intervention, in particular risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy, reduces risk of both ovarian and bre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association 2014-09, Vol.312 (11), p.1091-1092
Main Authors: King, Mary-Claire, Levy-Lahad, Ephrat, Lahad, Amnon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Awards and Prizes
Breast cancer
Breast Neoplasms - genetics
Disease prevention
Female
Genes
Genes, BRCA1
Genes, BRCA2
Genetic Predisposition to Disease
Genetic Testing
Humans
Mass Screening
Medical screening
Public Health
Risk
Womens health
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Summary:Inherited mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 predispose to extremely high risks of breast and ovarian cancer. But these risks are not immutable. Among women who carry mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2, surgical intervention, in particular risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy, reduces risk of both ovarian and breast cancer and reduces overall mortality. However, many women with mutations in these genes are identified as carriers only after their first cancer diagnosis because their family history of cancer was not sufficient to suggest genetic testing. To identify a woman as a carrier only after she develops cancer is a failure of cancer prevention. Here, King et al describe the application of the discovery of a single gene BRCA1 that causes a form of hereditary breast cancer and suggest that population-based screening of women for BRCA1 and BRCA2 should become a routine part of clinical practice.
ISSN:0098-7484
1538-3598
DOI:10.1001/jama.2014.12483