BRCA1 and breast cancer: Pathogenic variants in the BRCA1 (OMIM 113705) and BRCA2 (OMIM 600185) genes were first associated with familial breast cancer risk in the mid-1990s.1,2 Associated risks for ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and melanoma have since been documented; these clinical associations are grouped as hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) syndrome.3