'BRCA mutations' tagged blog posts in Dr. Ruddy's Breast Cancer Blog

Angelina Jolie shocked the world last week with her announcement that she had inherited a BRCA 1 mutation – presumably from her mother who died of ovarian cancer in...

BRCA is a gene that repairs damaged DNA.  Everyone inherits two, one from each parent.

Like all genes, BRCA can become mutated, altered in such a way that its function is impaired.  Even a mutated BRCA gene can, and will, be passed down to subsequent generations.  BRCA mutations occur in 1% of Ashkenazi Jews, are more commonly seen in hispanic than white women, and are more frequently associated with triple-negative breast cancer.

Two...