BRCA1 and cancer: While most breast cancers are sporadic in nature, approximately 5-10% are attributed to genetics, arising from autosomal dominant mutations in specific cancer genes, the strongest of which are the two breast cancer susceptibility genes, BRCA1 or BRCA2. Women who carry these mutations have up to an 80% risk of developing breast and up to a 60% risk of ovarian cancer [2-4].