Learn about the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes including a number of key genetic variants associated with several cancer types.
What Is Cancer?
Cancer is a complex group of diseases that cause considerable illness and can often be deadly. There were 18 million new cancer cases and 9.5 million deaths worldwide in 2018 alone, making it one of the most common severe diseases [R].
Cancer occurs when the factors responsible for regulating the growth and development of cells become damaged or dysregulated, which can cause the body’s cells to start growing and dividing uncontrollably. Over time, this uncontrolled growth leads to the formation of lumps of cancerous cells — commonly known as “tumors” — which continue to grow, and which can eventually damage other nearby tissues, or interfere with the functioning of the body’s organs.
Additionally, cancerous cells can sometimes “break away” from the initial tumor and spread (“metastasize”) to other parts of the body, causing the cancer to spread even further throughout the body.
The risk of developing cancer is generally determined by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. The genetic side of this equation typically depends on what kind of information a person’s DNA contains; and because every person’s DNA is different, so is their relative chance of developing cancer at some point in their lives. On the other side of the equation, some of the environmental factors that can influence a person’s risk of cancer include their age, lifestyle, and diet, their personal medical and disease history, and their degree of exposure to certain toxic chemicals or types of radiation.
Mechanisms of Cancer Development and Prevention
Damage to a cell’s DNA — such as from oxidative stress, toxins, or radiation — can lead to mutations and other critical alterations in the cell’s chromosomes. Such genetic mutations are widely recognized as one of the key biological events that can trigger the formation of cancer cells and tumors [R].
Fortunately, the body possesses a number of “defense mechanisms” that can repair DNA damage before it causes cells to turn cancerous [R]. Among them, BRCA1 and BRCA2 are two of the best-known “tumor suppressor” genes. This pair of genes encodes two important proteins that can help prevent the development of cancer through several different mechanisms, including repairing DNA damage, controlling the “cell cycle,” and regulating the expression of various other genes throughout the body. However, certain variations in these genes have been associated with increased risk of several different types of cancer — especially breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and prostate cancer [R, R].
What Are The
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