Testing for Breast Cancer
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In my biology class we had a lecture on cancer biology. There were a series of interesting questions that my professor asked the class. I’ll ask them at the end, I am curious to see reactions.
There is a gene that everyone has, it is called the BRCA1 gene. The gene has been connected to breast cancer.
- Women with two normal copies of BRCA1 have a 2% chance of developing breast cancer by age 50
- Women with one mutated copy of BRCA1 have a 60% chance of developing breast cancer by age 50
- Their chanced of developing ovarian cancer are also much higher
- BRCA1 is a protein that is involved in DNA repair
There are genetic tests available that allow women (and men) to test for this gene. However, since it gives information about your parents as well, they have to be willing to be tested for the mutated gene before you can get tested.
Here are the questions that were posed to my General Biology Class:
- Would you get tested for the BRCA1 gene mutation? Why or why not?
- Men: Would you still marry a woman, if after you became engaged, both of you found out she was carrying a mutation in BRCA1?
- Women: Would you still marry a man if, after you became engaged, you found out he was carrying a mutation in BRCA1?
The entire class answered yes to questions two and three. I think most people would do the same. However there are reasons for not going through with the marriage. Knowing you are carrying the mutated BRCA1 genes gives you knowledge that you can pass the mutations onto your children: increasing their risk of certain cancers later in life.
I would love to hear your opinions on this matter. Genetic testing is becoming more and more readily available, and I think it will play a big role in the future.
3 Comments
the oracle
December 6th, 2007
at 8:24am
As long as it is used as a guide, and not a directive, genetic testing is a good thing.
I do think that certain things are being blamed on genetics without proper foundation, however, as some of the things blamed on genes are merely crutches for the weak minded (alchoholism, for example).
Kevin Bailey
December 7th, 2007
at 7:45am
I think you misstated something. You said I cannot get a test until my parents agree to be tested. So it follows that they cannot be tested until their parents are tested, and again to the next generation back to the beginning. I don’t know for sure about most families but mine stops at my Paternal Grandmother. My Paternal Grandfather died several years ago and my Maternal Grandparents we dead before my parents had me.
Perhaps you meant they should be consulted and agree to your being tested. If that is the case then shouldn’t it be required of all living known potential genetic donors i.e. my Grandma. It reveal potential information about her as well. Understanding the more generations you go back the less definitive the ties.
Grant Hogarth
December 13th, 2007
at 9:15am
Not only women get breast cancer!
See this Dec 13th article in the Salt Lake Tribune:
http://tinyurl.com/2qnxwq
Also, I believe that it’s a mutation in the BRCA2 gene, not the BRCA1.
Finally WRT genetic testing, as a comment on “the oracle”’s point about genetic causes being a crutch. While I would agree that we have not found a “gene” for alcoholism /per se/, there is enough evidence to support the positing of a link between genetic conditions and a weakness for obsessive/dependent behaviors. So while one might not be a “genetic alcoholic”, a person might well have a genetic dysfunction that leads one to be more susceptible to becoming one. That said, that is not the only reason/cause for such an illness; many such have a psychological or historical component — sometimes separate, sometimes linked.