BRCA

The BRCA test reveals a hereditary predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer. It is designed to determine allelic variants of the human BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes (polymorphisms 185delAG, 4153delA, 5382insC, 617 delT) by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in human DNA preparations, derived from peripheral blood.

An indication for the passage of the study is a suspicion of a genetic predisposition to breast or ovarian cancer. Women with a positive test result should be constantly monitored by an oncologist and undergo the necessary diagnostic measures, which may exclude the possibility of uncontrolled tumor growth. If a disease is detected at an early stage, it is completely treatable in approximately 95% of cases.

The presence of changes in the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes often indicates an increased risk of the disease. The development of ovarian cancer or breast cancer, even if women have these genes, depends on many external factors (radiation, diet, sex hormones, toxic environmental factors, etc.).

A genetic test is not the only laboratory test. It has multi-stage application. A positive result of a genetic test does not mean that a person will necessarily get breast or ovarian cancer. Such a result usually shows that a given person belongs to a high-risk group, involves examination with a multidisciplinary approach and putting the patient on a control program with a doctor in a specialized department.

An abnormality of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes may account for 10% of all cases of breast cancer. In women with breast cancer, when an abnormality of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes is detected, a family predisposition to cancer of the breast, ovaries, or both, is often found. The pathological genotypes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are not strictly specific for breast cancer and can also indicate the risk for cancer of the ovaries, stomach, colon, endometrium, pancreas, bladder, melanoma.