Paternal Genes Linked to Early Breast Cancer

US Pharm. 2012;37(1):10.

Lake Success, NY—BRCA1 and BRCA2, the two most commonly inherited breast cancer (BC) mutations, can trigger the disease nearly a decade earlier when inherited paternally. The reason behind this surprising finding is unknown. In a study of 130 women with BC caused by one of these mutations, subjects with paternally inherited BRCA1 developed BC at about age 38 years, versus 45 years for maternal inheritance; for BRCA2, BC developed at about age 41 years in those with paternal inheritance, versus 50 years for maternal inheritance. Additionally, mutations occurred in families of Jamaican and Irish descent, a departure from the view that primarily Ashkenazic Jewish women are affected.