Authors' recommendations: Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women worldwide and is the leading cause of cancer-related death. Several factors are known to increase a woman's risk of breast cancer, including hormonal factors, obesity, and family history. Most breast cancers occur in women without a family history of the disease, but 20% to 25% of cases are attributed to hereditary factors. Two breast cancer risk genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) account for approximately 40% of familial breast cancer, but the remaining heritability is thought to be due to genetic variants in other susceptibility genes. The checkpoint kinase 2 (CHEK2) gene is a moderate-risk susceptibility gene associated with an estimated 2-times increased risk of breast cancer. CHEK2 is involved in the DNA repair process, and defects in this gene may allow cells to bypass the normal cell cycle checkpoints, and potentially lead to cancer. A number of genetic variants in CHEK2 associated with an increased risk of breast cancer have been identified, and the frequency of these variants differs by patient ethnicity and geographic region. The risk of breast cancer in CHEK2 genetic variant carriers is higher in women with a family history of the disease, suggesting the presence of other unidentified susceptibility genes.

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 2013

URL for published report: The report may be purchased from: http://www.hayesinc.com/hayes/crd/?crd=15132

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: United States

Organisation Name: HAYES, Inc.

Contact Address: 157 S. Broad Street, Suite 200, Lansdale, PA 19446, USA. Tel: 215 855 0615; Fax: 215 855 5218

Contact Name: saleinfo@hayesinc.com

Contact Email: saleinfo@hayesinc.com

Copyright: 2013 Winifred S. Hayes, Inc