Erratum in:- Nat Med 2001 Jun;7(6):749. Nathanson KN [corrected to Nathanson KL].
Breast cancer genetics: what we know and what we need.
Nathanson KL, Wooster R, Weber BL.
Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Breast cancer results from genetic and environmental factors leading to the accumulation of mutations in essential genes. Genetic predisposition may have a strong, almost singular effect, as with BRCA1 and BRCA2, or may represent the cumulative effects of multiple low-penetrance susceptibility alleles. Here we review high- and low-penetrance breast-cancer-susceptibility alleles and discuss ongoing efforts to identify additional susceptibility genes. Ultimately these discoveries will lead to individualized breast cancer risk assessment and a reduction in breast cancer incidence.
Publication Types:
PMID: 11329055 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]