Biomarkers for Early Detection of Familial Breast Cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is classified as sporadic, familial, or hereditary. In familial BC, an unusual high number of members in a family are affected by breast, ovarian, or a related cancer. Family history is crucial in determining an individual’s BC susceptibility. A person’s risk of developing BC increases with an increasing number of affected family members. Only 5%–10% of all BC appears to have strong inheritance. Of these, 4%–5% is caused by genes with high penetrance and transmitted in an autosomal dominant manner. Testing for well-characterized mutations in blood based on a clinical suspicion of familial cancer is a well-known approach for genetic testing in cancer susceptibility. This review summarizes known genetic biomarkers, CONTENTS 5.