Breast Cancer and Ovarian Cancer

7 to 10 percent of breast and ovarian cancer is hereditary. Hereditary cancers are often diagnosed at a younger age and involve multiple cancers in the same person. Knowing whether you have a genetic risk for breast and ovarian cancer means you can take steps to reduce your risk. It can also provide valuable information to your family members about their risk. Genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer can involve hundreds of possible mutations to two large genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2. Full sequence tests of these genes are sometimes necessary. In contrast, persons of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry can often get by with testing for only three specific gene changes that are associated with their genetic heritage.

Single Site Testing can be done when a specific BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene change has been identified in your family. Consult your doctor. DNA Direct offers DNA tests for breast and ovarian cancer risk that range in price from $620 to $3456.

Companies are already beginning to use genetic information to develop custom drugs for breast cancer. Herceptin from Genentech is a very effective anticancer medicine, with revenue last year of $1.3 billion in the U.S., that is given only to patients who test positive for a mutation in the HER2 gene.

BREAKING NEWS:

Geneticists have identified a gene which causes breast cancer to metastasise, the deadly process by which the disease spreads to other organs. The SATB1 gene alters the behavior of at least 1,000 other genes within tumor cells and makes cancer cells proliferate. The findings could pave the way to diagnostic tools that show the likelihood of the disease spreading and to drugs that prevent or treat metastasis in breast cancer as well.