In this issue, Hughes-Davies et al. describe a novel gene product, EMSY, which suppresses the transactivational activity of BRCA2. EMSY is located within an amplicon in sporadic breast and ovarian cancers, suggesting that its overexpression may mimic the effects of BRCA2 inactivation. The implications for BRCA2 function are discussed.

Germline mutations in BRCA2 predispose carriers to the development of breast, ovarian, and a variety of other cancers. The original localization of the BRCA2 gene was aided by its homozygous deletion in a pancreatic carcinoma; indeed, an excess of pancreatic carcinoma has been seen in some BRCA2 cancer families. To determine the involvement of BRCA2 in pancreatic carcinomas, we screened for BRC...

BACKGROUND Germline mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 are responsible for 5%-10% of epithelial ovarian cancers, but the molecular pathways affected by these mutations are unknown. We used complementary DNA (cDNA) microarrays to compare gene expression patterns in ovarian cancers associated with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations with gene expression patterns in sporadic epithelial ovarian cancers and to ident...

Germline mutations of the human BRCA2 gene confer susceptibility to breast cancer. Although the function of the BRCA2 protein remains to be determined, murine cells homozygous for BRCA2 inactivation display chromosomal aberrations. We have isolated a 2 MDa BRCA2-containing complex and identified a structural DNA binding component, designated as BRCA2-Associated Factor 35 (BRAF35). BRAF35 contai...

CONTEXT Attempts to determine the clinical significance of BRCA1/2 mutations in ovarian cancer have produced conflicting results. OBJECTIVE To determine the relationships between BRCA1/2 deficiency (ie, mutation and promoter hypermethylation) and overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), chemotherapy response, and whole-exome mutation rate in ovarian cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, A...

objective: breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies in women worldwide. it is caused by a number of genetic and epigenetic factors. aberrant hypermethylation of the promoter regions in specific genes is a key event in the formation and progression of breast cancers as well as the dbc2 gene, as a tumor suppressor gene. different studies show that the dbc2 gene is inactivated through ...

the p21 belongs to the cip/kip family of cdk inhibitors involved in cell cycle arrest at specific stages of the cell cycle progression. dna methylation is the best studied epigenetic mark that have been evidently associated to chromatin condensation, and repression of gene transcription. the cpg island hypermethylation in promoter region of certain genes occurs in cancer cells and affects tumor...