Question

Why would someone with a mutation in the BRCA1 gene have a higher risk of developing cancer earlier in life than someone without a mutation in the BRCA1 gene?

Answer 1

Mutations to either breast cancer gene BRCA1 significantly increase your risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer when compared with the cancer risk of a woman without a BRCA gene mutation. Men with certain inherited BRCA gene mutations also face an increased risk of breast cancer.