However, these genes can be changed, whether through mutation or some other alteration. When that happens, they do not function correctly, may stop producing suppressor proteins and eventually may facilitate cancer development in the body.
While gene study is still in relatively early stages, we now know that specific inherited mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 can lead to certain types of cancers, including breast and ovarian.
The Odds Are Stacked
It is estimated that BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations may cause as many as 25 percent of breast cancers that develop from inherited genes and as much as 10 percent of all other breast cancers, according to Cancer.gov. It is also believed to account for roughly 15 percent of the entire range of ovarian cancer. Moreover, it is believed that both breast and ovarian cancers associated with mutations of BRCA1 and BRCA2 develop far earlier than other forms of cancer, particularly cancers that are not inherited.
You can inherit a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation from either your father or mother. If you are the child of a parent who carries the potential for a mutation in these genes, you have a one in two chance of experiencing it yourself at some point in your life.