PTEN and breast cancer: In the general population, acknowledged risk factors for BC are aging, white race, reproductive history (i.e. early menarche, late menopause, nulliparity, late age at first birth, no breastfeeding), exposures (i.e. exogenous hormones like combined hormonal contraceptives (CHCs) or hormone replacement therapy), alcohol, tobacco smoking, overweight and obesity, lack of exercise, dense breast tissue, previous chest radiation, precancerous lesions, personal history of BC, family history and mutations in BC predisposition genes (BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2, PTEN, CHEK2, etc.)[2–13].