2009 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript

This is just one question from an archive of the National DNA Day Moderated Chat held in April 2009. The NHGRI Director and many genomics experts from across NHGRI took questions from students, teachers and the general public on topics ranging from basic genomic research, to the genetic basis of disease, to ethical questions about genetic privacy.

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It is known that the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes account for around 15% of breast cancer cases. What impact does faulty DNA have on the remaining 85% of cases?
     Clesson Turner, M.D.: I see patients of all ages with genetic disorders/syndromes. I am also working on the ClinSeq project as my research. All cancers occur because of abnormal growth of cells caused by mutations in DNA. Some individuals are born with DNA changes that increase their risk of developing cancer such as the situation with BRCA1 and BRCA2. There are a few other genes that have been associated with rare cases of breast cancer such as CHEK2 and PTEN. However, the majority of breast cancer is caused by sporadic changes that occur after a person is born.
St. Ignatius in IL (student)

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