Although genetic markers identifying women at an increased risk of developing breast cancer exist, the majority of inherited risk factors remain elusive. Mutations in the BRCA1/BRCA2 gene confer a substantial increase in breast cancer risk, yet routine clinical genetic screening is limited to the coding regions and intron- exon boundaries, precluding the identification of mutations in noncoding...

BACKGROUND A mutation found in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene of a breast tumor could be either germline or somatically acquired. The prevalence of somatic BRCA1/2 mutations and the ratio between somatic and germline BRCA1/2 mutations in unselected breast cancer patients are currently unclear. PATIENTS AND METHODS Paired normal and tumor DNA was analyzed for BRCA1/2 mutations by massively parallel s...

Inheritedmutations in the BRCA1 (breast cancer 1, early onset) gene increase the risk of female breast and ovarian cancers. About 65% and 40% of females who inherit BRCA1 mutations will develop breast and ovarian cancer, respectively (Antoniou et al., 2003). To address specific roles of BRCA1 in the normal development and cancer pathogenesis, a number of genetically modified mouse models have b...

The breast/ovarian cancer susceptibility proteins BRCA1 and BRCA2 maintain genome stability, at least in part, through a functional role in DNA damage repair. They both colocalize with RAD51 at sites of DNA damage/replication and activate RAD51-mediated homologous recombination repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSB). Whereas BRCA2 interacts directly with and regulates RAD51, the role of BRCA1...

BRCA1 mRNA and protein levels are regulated by the steroid hormones estrogen and progesterone in human breast cancer cells. BRCA1 mRNA and protein levels were significantly decreased in estrogen-depleted MCF-7 and BT20T cells and increased again after stimulation with beta-estradiol. The increase in BRCA1 expression upon stimulation with estrogen was not coordinated with the early induction of ...

We sought to identify novel genes associated with cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) (CDDP) resistance, and by differential display analysis, we found that the human breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 was overexpressed in CDDP-resistant MCF-7 cells. A recent report that BRCA1 and human Rad51 colocalize in S-phase cells suggests a role for BRCA1 in DNA damage repair. We hypothesiz...

Breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1), mapped on chromosome 17q21, is implicated in the mechanisms of cellular DNA repair. Inactivation of this gene is involved in the development of many human cancers, including breast cancer. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of BRCA1 promoter hypermethylation and expression in breast cancer cases. Sixty-one breast cancers were examin...

BRCA1 mRNA and protein levels are regulated by the steroid hor monesestrogenand progesteronein humanbreastcancercells. BRCA1 mRNA and protein levels were significantly decreased in estrogen-de pleted MCF-7 and BT2OT cells and increased again after stimulation with @3-estradiol. The increase in BRCA1 expression upon stimulation with estrogen was not coordinated with the early induction of the es...

Cumulative evidence indicates that breast cancer-associated gene 1 (BRCA1) participates in DNA damage repair and cell-cycle checkpoint control, serving as a tumor susceptibility gene to maintain the global genomic stability. However, whether BRCA1 has a direct role in cell proliferation and differentiation, two key biological functions in tumorigenesis, remains unclear. Here we demonstrate BRCA...