BRCA stands for BReast CAncer gene. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are tumour suppressor genes which means that they stop the cells in our body from growing and dividing out of control and becoming cancer. People who inherit harmful variants in one of these genes have increased risks of several cancers—most notably breast and ovarian cancer, but also several additional types of cancer. People who have inherited a harmful variant in BRCA1 and BRCA2 also tend to develop cancer at younger ages than people who do not have such a variant.
A lot of people still think that this is a ‘Female or Woman’s’ gene, but the truth is that a BRCA1 or BRCA2 alteration/fault can be inherited from a person’s mother or father. If you carry a genetic alteration, each of your children (male or female), and each of your siblings (male or female) have a 50% (1 in 2) risk of inheriting the same alteration.
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