IsBreast CancerHereditary?

Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common form of carcinoma affecting women around the world. There are many questions revolving around breast cancer, the most common being - Is breast cancer hereditary? Take a look at the article to know more.

Family History and Breast Cancer

About 5-10 per cent of all breast cancers are estimated to be hereditary. This means breast cancer runs in your family and may be caused by a mutation in certain genes you have inherited from either parent. Two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, are tumour-killing genes and help in fighting <a "https:=" " cancer"="" health-insurance=" " health-issues=" " href="" target="_blank" title="All about Cancer" wellness-corner=" " www.hdfcergo.com=" ">cancer. However, when there’s a mutation in the BRCA genes, they do not function normally, increasing a person’s risk of developing breast cancer. A majority of hereditary breast cancers are due to mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.

Other than hereditary breast cancers, other causes of cancer are due to gene mutations acquired by an individual over time or are sporadic.