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Psychosocial
Genetics Unit, Centre for Human Genetics, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven,
Belgium
Correspondence to: Professor Evers-Kiebooms, Gerry.Kiebooms@med.kuleuven.ac.be
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Introduction |
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EDITOR
The recent developments in human
genetics have led to the availability of predictive DNA tests for the
hereditary subgroups of some cancers. During the past five years,
genetic testing for mutations in the
BRCA11 and
BRCA2 genes,2 predisposing to hereditary breast/ovarian cancer (HBOC), has entered clinical practice.
Several genetic centres/hospitals offer predictive testing for HBOC to
women with a family history of the disease. Women who carry a HBOC
mutation might decide on regular breast screening to increase the
chances of early detection of the disease. Alternatively, they might
opt for prophylactic surgery to reduce their breast/ovarian cancer risk
as much as possible. In addition to the uncertainties involved in these
management options, the ambiguity because of the incomplete and
variable penetrance of the BRCA1/BRCA2
mutations has to be dealt with as well3-5; recent
estimations of the cumulative breast cancer risk for female
BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carriers vary
This article has been cited by other articles:
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  L. A. Keogh, M. C. Southey, J. Maskiell, M.-A. Young, C. L. Gaff, J. Kirk, K. M. Tucker, D. Rosenthal, M. R.E. McCredie, G. G. Giles, et al. Uptake of Offer to Receive Genetic Information about BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations in an Australian Population-Based Study Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., December 1, 2004; 13(12): 2258 - 2263. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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