Medicine
Genetic Basis of Inherited Cancer Syndromes and Screening Implications
Quick fact
A woman with a BRCA1 mutation faces up to a 72% lifetime risk of breast cancer and up to a 44% risk of ovarian cancer, compared to about 12% and 1.3% in the general population.
Why this is interesting
Why do some families seem to face cancer generation after generation? The answer lies in a single letter change in a gene, passed down quietly until it erupts as a tumor.