WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF INHERITING AN ALTERED BRCA1 OR BRCA2 GENE?
• Both of the BRCA genes are inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. Autosomal means that both men and women can inherit a BRCA mutation. Dominant means that it only takes one altered BRCA gene to cause the increased likelihood for developing cancer. If an individual has a parent with a BRCA1 or a BRCA2 mutation, they may either inherit that parent’s altered BRCA gene or that parent’s working BRCA gene. Therefore, that individual has a 50% chance of inheriting the altered BRCA gene and the increased likelihood to develop certain cancers. Likewise, they have a 50% chance of not inheriting the altered breast cancer susceptibility gene and would then have the same risk for developing cancer as the general population.
